Markets

Wall Street climbs as Oracle leads tech stocks higher

  • Oracle hits record high after results beat.
  • Major US stock indexes headed for second weekly drop.
  • Indexes up: Dow 0.36%, S&P 0.31%, Nasdaq 0.29%.
Published September 11, 2020

US stocks rose on Friday, after a pullback in the previous session, as Oracle's solid quarterly results underscored the resilience of tech-related companies during the coronavirus crisis.

The cloud services company's 5.1% jump was one of the top boosts to the benchmark S&P 500 after its earnings beat estimates and it signaled a recovery in client spending due to higher remote working-led demand.

The so-called "stay-at-home winners" - Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp and Netflix Inc - rose about 1% each after selling in some of these mega-cap stocks brought Wall Street's rally to a screeching halt last week.

The major US stock indexes were set to end this week lower too, as concerns about the massive build-up in call options tied to tech names exacerbated the selloff.

"You really only get a few days (of rotation) into traditionally cyclical areas and then you pop back to the prior leadership names. This pattern is likely to persist," said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab.

Still, many investors view the slump as a healthy consolidation after a stunning five-month rally in the S&P 500 that was powered by a narrow group of heavyweight tech names and scores of fiscal and monetary stimulus.

Meanwhile, latest data showed US consumer prices increased solidly in August, but the labor market's slack is likely to keep a lid on inflation as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 recession.

At 9:56 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 99.86 points, or 0.36%, at 27,634.44, the S&P 500 was up 10.33 points, or 0.31%, at 3,349.52. The Nasdaq Composite was up 31.52 points, or 0.29%, at 10,951.11.

Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors traded higher, led by tech and industrials.

Exercise bike maker Peloton Interactive Inc climbed 4.1% as it reported a forecast-beating quarterly revenue due to a surge in subscribers and increased demand for its fitness products during the pandemic.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.64-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.70-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 11 new highs and 10 new lows.

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