US equity benchmarks rose on Wednesday led by gains in technology shares such as Salesforce and Marvell Technology.
At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6%.
Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hit fresh record highs on Wednesday.
All three benchmarks came off a mixed session from Tuesday as both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 had risen marginally, while the Dow Jones fell.
Wall Street’s major averages have had a muted start to December compared with sharp gains last month.
Most of last month’s gains were after the US President-elect Donald Trump won the 2024 election.
“Overall, investor sentiment remains positive, although few are in any doubt that it will take more energy to drive up equity prices now given the outstanding performance in November,” David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation said.
All the majors had their best month of the year, with the Dow, S&P and NASDAQ up 7, 5 and 4% respectively.
He added:
A new Trump administration is viewed as being particularly bullish for domestic stocks due to promises of deregulation and a positive tax environment.
Meanwhile, a report by ADP on Wednesday showed that private payrolls grew less than expected in the US last month.
A total of 146,000 new jobs were added in November, while analysts polled by Dow Jones had estimated the figure to come in at 163,000.
Investors will now focus on the US non-farm payrolls data due to be released on Friday, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge for assessing the economy’s health.
Additionally, the market will also monitor comments from the Fed Chair Jerome Powell later on Wednesday as he is scheduled to speak in New York.
Salesforce and Marvell Technology jump
Shares of Salesforce soared on Wednesday after the company announced positive earnings results.
Shares were up nearly 10% at the time of writing, as the company’s earnings beat analysts’ expectations, boosting hopes for its much-hyped artificial technology strategy.
Meanwhile, Marvell Technology’s stock jumped nearly 20% on Wednesday after the chipmaker’s fourth-quarter revenue rose to $1.80 billion, beating expectations of $1.65 billion.
Earlier this year, the company said it expected AI network and custom processor chip sales to hit $2.5 billion by 2026. CEO Matthew Murphy said on Tuesday’s earnings call that the forecast was overshooting.
Chewy slides
Shares of pet supplies retailer Chewy slid more than 7% on Wednesday after the company posted disappointing third-quarter earnings results.
Chewy’s earnings for the third quarter came in at just 1 cent per share, while forecasts indicated 8 cents, according to analysts at LSEG.
The company’s revenue came in at $2.88 billion, which was in line with expectations.
For both its fourth-quarter and full-year outlook, Chewy guided for revenues that were higher than FactSet consensus, according to a CNBC report.
Dollar Tree jumps
Shares of Dollar Tree rose more than 4% on Wednesday after the company posted positive earnings.
During the third-quarter, the company earned $1.12 per share on $7.56 billion in revenue, above the $1.07 per share on $7.44 billion in revenue that analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting.
The company also said that CEO Jeff Davis will step down from his role.
The company’s stock has fallen about 49% since the beginning of the year.
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