FX.co ★ S&P and Dow Hit New Highs, Nasdaq Cuts Gains

On Friday, the S&P 500 experienced a rise of 0.3%, with the Dow Jones climbing approximately 370 points, reaching new record highs. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq relinquished most of its initial gains due to mixed sentiments stemming from advancements in AI and novel corporate partnerships juxtaposed against a weaker-than-expected ISM Services PMI. Key events boosting investor confidence included strategic partnerships between Hitachi and OpenAI, Fujitsu and Nvidia, as well as reports of Global Infrastructure Partners entering acquisition discussions with Aligned Data Centers. However, ISM data revealed an unexpected stagnation in the services sector last month, alongside an increase in prices. In addition, market participants largely disregarded the ongoing federal government shutdown, now in its third day, which has already postponed the anticipated jobs report. The health and utilities sectors emerged as top performers, whereas communication services lagged behind. Notably, UnitedHealth's shares increased by approximately 3%, while Palantir Technologies saw a decline of over 4%. Over the week, the S&P 500 rose by nearly 1.1%, the Dow Jones by 0.6%, and the Nasdaq by 1.6%.