Those gains came amid a broader rally in stocks on news of better-than-expected June retail sales data, strong earnings reports and expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark interest rate in September.
One winner was UnitedHealth, whose shares rose 6.5%, helping lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the health insurance giant reported better-than-expected second-quarter profits. The insurer is the largest weighting in the Dow, and big moves in its stock typically ripple through the index.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average includes 30 major, so-called blue-chip companies traded on the U.S. stock exchange, such as Apple, Boeing, Nike, and Walmart. It is a closely watched indicator of stock market trends.
The S&P 500 also surged, climbing 35.98 points, or 0.6%, to its 38th record this year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose more slowly, by 36.77 points, or 0.2%.
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Among last week’s biggest winners were small-cap stocks on the Russell 2000 Index, which rose 3.5% on Tuesday. The index outperformed the Nasdaq and recorded its biggest five-day gain since April 2020. The gains suggest the market’s strength could continue beyond tech stocks as investors focus on expected Fed interest-rate cuts this fall, which would lower borrowing costs, especially for smaller companies.
Markets have been rising since last week’s milder-than-expected inflation report, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high on Monday after Fed Chairman Jerome H. Powell said recent data gave him greater confidence that inflation is on track toward the central bank’s 2 percent target.
Meanwhile, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley both reported better-than-expected results on Tuesday.
