Tech powers S&P 500, Nasdaq to record closes

STORY: Monday marked yet another record closing high for both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, as technology shares continued to rally.

The Dow added about half a percent, the S&P 500 gained more than three-quarters of a percent and the Nasdaq climbed nearly 1% to notch its sixth straight record close.

Joy Yang is head of product management and marketing at MarketVector Indexes.

"We know that investors are still very much focused on AI. And this is despite some very cautious guidance from the Fed (Federal Reserve), which, you know, is, you know, we are starting to see inflation coming down, but it's one data point. So, we're not seeing a trend. And, in fact, the Fed is projecting that we're moving towards potentially only just one rate cut. And, despite that, it seems like the stock market is very optimistic. We're still seeing all-time highs, whether it's the S&P, Nasdaq, and even our semiconductor index at all-time highs, as well as our AI and machine learning and quantum computing index at all-time highs."

Shares of Apple added roughly 2%, while Microsoft added more than 1%, both stocks rebounding from earlier losses.

Chipmakers gained, with Broadcom adding almost 5.5%, Micron Technology up more than 4.5% and U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor rising more than 2.5%. Nvidia, however, declined more than half a percent, retreating from a record high.

Goldman Sachs lifted its 2024 year-end target for the S&P 500 to 5,600 from 5,200, while Evercore ISI raised its forecast for the benchmark index to 6,000 from 4,750.

Both brokerages cited technology strength and enthusiasm for AI as reasons for lifting their targets.

This week's economic data includes May retail sales, housing starts and the S&P flash Purchasing Managers' Index.

Markets will be closed Wednesday for the Juneteenth holiday.