U.S. Stocks Reached All-Time Highs on April 5

It was a great day for U.S. stocks on Monday as Wall Street’s main indexes gained more than 1%. The S&P 500, as well as the Dow, reached record highs as investors cheered strong jobs and services sector reports which strengthened views that 2021 could see the best economic growth in decades.

According to an ASM survey for March, the U.S. services industry activity jumped to a record high. The data come on the heels of Friday’s jobs report. Hopefully, U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 916,000 jobs in March. This result surpassed expectations by more than 250,000.

At the moment, investors are more focused on strong economic growth and how that potential leads to better earnings in the future. The pace of vaccinations, as well as additional government stimulus, helped the S&P 500 and the Dow to reach all-time highs. One of the main topics is progress on a massive infrastructure plan. Another important issue is the upcoming corporate earnings season. This information will help to gather more information on the sustainability of the rally.

The U.S. stocks and various factors

There are many factors that have the ability to affect U.S. stocks. The Nasdaq is still about 4% below its record peak from the last month of winter as high-end tech stocks attempted to recover from a pullback after a spike in bond yields.

However, ten out of 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose, with tech, consumer, discretionary, and communication services leading gains. It is always a positive sign when the market rallies on board economic news.

Nevertheless, energy shares were struggling, tracking a fall in oil prices as producers decided to increase output.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 415.22 points or 1.26% to 33,569.43 as of 11:45 a.m. ET. The S&P gained 58.10 points or 1.45% to 4,077.97 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 184.03 points or 1.37% to 13,664.14.

The S&P 1500 airlines index added about 4%. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fully vaccinated people can travel freely at low risk and this announcement helped to boost the S&P 1500 airlines index.

Interestingly, the S&P index recorded 75 new 52-week highs and no new low. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq recorded 140 new highs and eight new lows.