Indexes on the U.S. stock market soared to new heights today with small-cap stocks and high tech plays leading the charge. Renewed confidence in the world's largest economy sees no sign of slowing.
Some of the biggest winners were Salesforce.com and TripAdvisor, Inc. Salesforce.com Inc. and TripAdvisor Inc. The Dow Jones internet index jumped 5.6 percent and the S&P's 500 index rose 0.8 percent to 1,894, a new record. The Russell 2000 Index surged 2.2 percent, the biggest increase since the first week of March.
The S&P 500 has rallied 4.3 percent from an April 11 low, recovering all of its losses after a selloff in technology and small-cap stocks that overshadowed optimism about the strength of the economy. The Nasdaq rose 1.5 percent and now finds itself only 5.2 percent below its 13 year record high in March after weeks of slippage. After a 31 percent drop from its high two months ago, Netflix.com rose an impressive 4 percent.
Company earnings were key to this encouraging rally. Of the 453 S&P 500 companies that have released earnings, 76 percent beat out profit estimates and 53 percent exceeded revenue projections.
This news comes at a critical time when a surging stock market seemed to be slowing amidst increasing international tension and uncertainty. Investors should take comfort in the resilience of U.S. markets and remember that as long as earnings remain strong, the stock market indexes should continue to rise international security issues aside. Investors would be wise to seek out promising small cap and technology stocks that continue to be the engine of U.S. stock market.
