U.S. stocks hit fresh records as tech rally lifts S&P 500, Nasdaq

Wall Street closed with S&P 500 and Nasdaq at fresh records as Tesla and Apple led a powerful tech rally while the Dow slipped.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finishing at record levels as a renewed surge in technology shares overshadowed weakness in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Wall Street scales new peak on tech strength

According to market data compiled by Gate, the Dow slipped 0.15%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.8% and the Nasdaq added 1.59%, pushing both benchmarks to fresh all-time closing highs in New York.

Tesla shares rallied 7.6% to around $390 after recent losses, extending a rebound that has left the electric-vehicle maker up sharply from its intraday low near $362 earlier in the session.

Apple also advanced, climbing nearly 3% as investors rotated back into the largest U.S. technology and AI-linked names, helping to propel the tech-heavy Nasdaq to its latest record.

SanDisk, by contrast, fell 5.5%, highlighting ongoing dispersion within the broader technology complex even as headline indices notch new peaks.

The latest leg higher leaves the S&P 500 trading just below 7,000 points, extending a powerful run that has seen the index gain more than 16% over the past year alongside expectations for roughly 15% annual earnings growth, according to recent U.S. market research.finance.yahoo+1

Chinese companies listed in New York also participated in the move, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index up 0.7% and NetEase adding about 2%, underscoring renewed risk appetite for growth and internet names.

The advance comes against a backdrop of investors betting that resilient U.S. economic data, strong big-tech balance sheets and ongoing enthusiasm around artificial intelligence will continue to support equities, even as geopolitical tensions and higher-for-longer rates remain in focus.

In this environment, Wall Street strategists have pointed to April’s historical tendency to deliver strong equity performance, with the S&P 500 averaging gains of roughly 1.4% in the month over recent decades, reinforcing seasonal tailwinds behind the latest breakout.