Live Markets: Wall Street closing records abound

Palantir Technologies

04/08/2026 21:42

Main U.S. indexes advance; Nasdaq out front, ends up ~2.6% 
Tech leads S&P 500 sector gainers; Utilities weakest group
Dollar slips; U.S. crude falls >6%; bitcoin, gold rise
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield falls to ~4.61%
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WALL STREET CLOSING RECORDS ABOUND
Wall Street's major indexes rallied sharply on Tuesday with the S&P 500 .SPX soaring 1.8% to a record closing high while the Dow industrials .DJI rose 1.7% to mark its second closing record in a row. The Nasdaq composite .IXIC led the advance, though with a 2.6% increase, bringing it less than 2% below its most recent record finish. 
The S&P's first record close since June 2 was its 25th year-to-date. And Tuesday's percentage gain was the benchmark's steepest since April 8. The Dow boasted its 23rd record close so far this year.
The Nasdaq, which briefly fell 10% below its intraday record high on Wednesday last week, boasted its biggest four-day percentage gain since late April last year.
And showing investor enthusiasm across the board, the S&P 400 mid-cap index .MID ended up 1.8% for its own closing record and the Russell 2000 .RUT small-cap index finished up 1.8%, also notching a closing record. Other indexes on the closing record podium were the S&P 600 small-cap index .SPCY, which added 1.7% on the day.
The S&P 500 Value index .IVX and the S&P 500 Equal Dollar Weighted index .SPXEW also registered closing records.
While the S&P 500 Growth .IGX missed out on a closing record at the last minute, it rose 2.3% on the day to outperform value's 1.13% advance. 
Not to be left out, there were also some sector notables on display with the S&P 500 Industrials .SPLRCI, up 1.8%, and the S&P 500 Financials .SPSY, up 0.9%, marking record closes. Within financials, the S&P 500 Banks subsector .SPXBK also took a closing record bow.  
While the S&P 500 technology index .SPLRCT didn't join the rush for records, it finished up 4.1% on the day and was the market's biggest driver by a long shot, contributing a 115.6 index point increase compared to an 11.9 point advance from industrials, the next biggest boost on the day. 
The technology sector had only one loser among its members on the day and its top nine performers boasted double-digit percentage gains, led by a 29.5% advance in Palantir PLTR.O. Within technology, chips outperformed sharply with the Philadelphia semiconductor index .SOX adding 6.6% while the S&P 500 software & services index .SPLRCIS rose 3.2%.
Among the S&P 500's 11 major industry sectors, six gained ground. Utilities .SPLRCU was the biggest laggard, down 0.6%.
But after three straight days of declines, it's interesting to note that the CBOE volatility index .VIX finished up 0.64% at 16.50. 
Here is your closing snapshot:
(Sinéad Carew, Terence Gabriel)
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EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:
THE FED'S FAMILY FIGHT OVER INFLATION CLICK HERE
MAGNIFICENT SEVEN ROARS BACK WITH MICROSOFT STANDING OUT CLICK HERE
WALL STREET INDEXES RISE WITH SOME BULLISH EARNINGS, SLIDING OIL CLICK HERE
OPENAI'S RISE COULD EXPAND THE PIE, MORGAN STANLEY SAYS CLICK HERE
BUYERS REGAIN CONTROL AS S&P 500 NEARS RECORD TERRITORY CLICK HERE
RHINE LEVELS FALL, GROWTH RISKS RISE CLICK HERE
EUROPE'S SMALL-CAP CONTRADICTION CLICK HERE 
JULY WAS A RESET, BULL MARKET REMAINS INTACT, SAYS CITADEL CLICK HERE
US OIL MARKET SUPPORT MIGHT BE WANING CLICK HERE
STOXX AT RECORD HIGH ON TECH, INDUSTRIALS STRENGTH CLICK HERE
BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPEAN FUTURES EDGE HIGHER, HEAVY EARNINGS DAY CLICK HERE
     

Wall Street indexes rally https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/jnvwzrbjmpw/Pasted%20image%201785875686392.png