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* S&P 500 is running high all the time for second consecutive session
* Nasdaq hits record high for third straight day
* Momenta grows to J & J’s $ 6.5 billion takeover bid
* Index up: Dow 0.20%, S&P 0.19%, Nasdaq 0.29% (Updates until noon)
By Medha Singh and Ambar Warrick
Aug 19 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes skyrocketed on Wednesday as Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to cross $ 2 trillion in market capitalization, with strong results from retailers Target and Lowe’s also lifting sentiment.
Already crowned the most valuable listed company in the world, Apple Inc rose 1.4% to cross the milestone while providing the largest support to the three major indices.
“For this market to sustain high levels completely, we either need to see something develop on the fiscal side, or we would have to see that technologists continue to lead with big caps,” said Yousef Abbasi, global market strategist at StoneX.
The S&P 500 closed Tuesday at a record high in what has been a bear market’s fastest recovery ever. The Nasdaq recovered its losses from pandemic sales two months ago, but the Dow is still nearly 5% below the February closing record high.
However, some market experts were skeptical about the new peaks at a time when volumes are typically weak due to slow summer trading.
“The record high was met without real fanfare, in the sense that we have low volumes, and not really a strong belief of the rally ahead,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
While trillions of dollars in fiscal and monetary support and an uptick in tech-related stocks have helped the benchmark rise to about 55% from its March low, the country’s economy is struggling to recover from the pandemic shocks.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for release at 2 a.m. ET (1800 GMT), could provide clues in the central bank’s plans for September.
Hopefully for another round of fiscal coronavirus support, following improved unemployment rates last month, U.S. stocks have rallied higher. But Democrats and Republicans remain divided over key issues of the bill.
Big-box chain Target Corp jumped 12.3% after posting its best quarterly comparable sales growth, while home improvement chain Lowe’s Cos Inc also estimated for quarterly results.
However, Lowe’s shares dipped 0.1%.
At 12:43 pm ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 56.67 points, or 0.20%, at 27,834.74 and the S&P 500 was 6.53 points, or 0.19%, at 3,396.31. The Nasdaq Composite was 32.93 points, or 0.29%, up 11,243.77.
Johnson & Johnson said it would buy Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $ 6.5 billion to support its portfolio of treatments for autoimmune diseases. Momentum shares increased 69.4%.
Gilead Sciences Inc. fell 4.1% after the US FDA refused to approve its experimental treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in its current form.
Progressive issues are the decliners larger than a 1.31-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.50-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 25 new highs of 52 weeks and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 62 new highs and 18 new lows. (Report by Medha Singh and Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; edited by Anil D’Silva and Maju Samuel)
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