The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and pulled back within 2.5% of its all-time high set a week ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 195 points, or 0.4%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was close to flat.
Companies selling computer chips, memory and other building blocks of the AI boom again helped lift the market.
Micron Technology rose 0.7%, for example, a day after jumping 9.9% and two days after plunging 13.3%. The computer memory company’s stock has already tripled so far this year, raising criticism that it’s gone too far, too fast. Following last week’s industrywide sell-off, the question is whether AI stocks are heading for a long downturn or just needed a shake-out to get rid of excessive optimism.
The biggest gain in the S&P 500 came from J.M. Smucker, which jumped 11.5% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company behind the Folgers, Hostess and other brands benefited from higher prices charged for coffee and sweet baked goods. It joined the long list of U.S. companies delivering stronger profit growth than analysts expected, which has helped drive the S&P 500 to record after record this year.
Nuvalent soared 38.8% after GSK agreed to buy the biotech company for $10.6 billion. The shares of U.K.-based GSK that trade in New York added 0.6%.
