Amid widespread volatility, the Wall Street is back in the green territory for the year. The impressive run in the stocks last week has helped the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 index to attain this level. Meanwhile, gains for the Nasdaq Composite Index expanded, taking the lead this year, climbing 7.2%.
Tech Sector Boost
Most of the surge came from the technology stocks following the power-packed earnings. The market darlings, known as the FAAMNG group, which comprises Facebook (FB – Free Report), apple (AAPL – Free Report), Amazon.com (AMZN – Free Report), Microsoft (MSFT – Free Report), Netflix (NFLX – Free Report) and Alphabet (GOOGL – Free Report) had slipped into deep correction territory in late March. However, these managed to bounce back and restore positive sentiments with better-than-expected results and optimism for future growth.
Facebook shrugged off worries over the data-privacy scandal involving Cambridge Analytica that broke in mid-March, while Apple eased concerns over weak iPhone demand and greeted investors with a big capital return program plus Warren Buffett's increased stake in the firm. The fast-growing cloud computing business powered both Amazon and Microsoft's growth story. Notably, Microsoft seems on track to record its strongest annual revenue growth for more than a decade. Netflix came up with blockbuster results while Alphabet's numbers were also inspiring.
Apart from these, semiconductor firms like Advanced Micro Devices (AMD – Free Report) and Intel INTC and payment companies including Visa V and PayPal (PYPL – Free Report) also fueled the rally and instilled confidence in the sector.
Energy Jumps
Oil price has zoomed to the highest levels in more than three and a half years buoyed by potential export disruptions in Iran and falling production in Venezuela. Additionally, the historic output cut deal by OPEC, Russia and other producers to curb production is paying off, paving the way for a rebalancing of the oil market despite rising U.S. production. The rally in the commodity has lent major optimism to the energy sector, pushing many stocks to new highs.
