U.S. stocks end mixed, S&P 500 hitting new high

New York [US], January 25: U.S. stocks ended mixed on Wednesday, as the S&P 500 notched its fourth consecutive record high, fueled by Netflix's stellar performance and optimism surrounding chipmakers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 99.06 points, or 0.26 percent, to 37,806.39. The S&P 500 added 3.95 points, or 0.08 percent, to 4,868.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 55.97 points, or 0.36 percent, to 15,481.92.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with materials and utilities leading the laggards by losing 1.40 percent and 1.38 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and communication services led the gainers by adding 1.43 percent and 1.17 percent, respectively.
Netflix stole the show, soaring 10.7 percent to a two-year high after blowing past subscriber expectations. This solidified its dominance in the streaming wars and boosted the entire communication services sector. Chipmakers like ASML also shone, pushing the S&P 500 to new highs.
Meanwhile, other tech giants like Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms joined the rally, demonstrating continued confidence in the market's leaders.
"Technology-enabled companies - the Magnificent Seven in particular and the AI theme - last year put up some ridiculous earnings and guidance. We will see over the next 10 days how that plays out, but early indications are certainly pretty positive," said Mike Dickson, head of research at Horizon Investments.
"There's quite a bit of disparity in sector performance among large caps," said Bespoke Investment Group analysts in an emailed note Wednesday. "In the small-cap space, performance is more uniform, but unfortunately, it's to the downside."
Small-cap stocks in the United States, as measured by the S&P Small Cap 600 SML, are down 3 percent in 2024 through Wednesday, FactSet data showed.
Trading activity ticked higher on Wall Street, with 11.6 billion shares changing hands - slightly above the average of the past 20 days. Investors awaited Tesla's quarterly report after the closing bell, but the electric carmaker's shares dipped slightly.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose, settling at 4.178 percent after data suggesting the manufacturing sector is on the rebound and weak demand for government debt at a five-year Treasury auction.
Source: Xinhua