Salesforce and Marvell gains fuel a tech surge as investors eye upcoming US employment data
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached record highs, driven by strong performances from tech stocks, including Salesforce and Marvell Technology.
According to CNBC, the S&P 500 increased by 0.61 percent, closing at 6,086.49, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.3 percent to finish at 19,735.12.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 308.51 points, or 0.69 percent, ending at 45,014.04. All three indices achieved all-time highs during the session, with the Dow surpassing the 45,000 mark for the first time.
Salesforce saw its shares climb nearly 11 percent after reporting fiscal third-quarter revenue that exceeded expectations.
Meanwhile, chipmaker Marvell Technology surged 23 percent after beating earnings estimates and issuing robust guidance for the fourth quarter. This marked Marvell’s best daily performance since May 2023.
These gains helped the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) reach its first all-time high since July, closing 1.8 percent higher.
Nancy Tengler, CEO of Laffer Tengler Investments, commented on the tech sector's performance.
“People have come out and said, the tech trade’s over. If you look at sector performance, the stocks have lagged since July — but that doesn’t mean that they can’t reaccelerate,” she told CNBC.
Tengler also noted that market broadening does not imply a “zero-sum game” where technology underperforms.
Investors are now looking ahead to US employment data expected on Friday. According to Dow Jones, economists predict that the US economy added 214,000 jobs in November.
However, private payroll data released Wednesday by ADP showed companies added only 146,000 positions, falling short of the estimated 163,000 jobs.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also addressed the state of the US economy on Wednesday. Speaking in New York, Powell indicated that the labour market's improvement and stronger-than-expected growth might allow the central bank to take a more measured approach to rate cuts.
“The [US] labour market is better, and the downside risks appear to be less in the labour market. Growth is definitely stronger than we thought, and inflation is coming [out] a little higher,” he said.
Powell added that these factors give the Fed room to “be a little more cautious as we try to find neutral.”
