Wall St closes higher on strong US economic data

By Echo Wang

(Reuters) -The S&P 500 scored a record closing high and the Dow and Nasdaq rose on Thursday, as Micron Technology shares rallied and a strong U.S. jobless claims report eased labor market concerns.

Shares of Micron Technology rose 15.78% after the memory chip maker projected first-quarter revenue above expectations, highlighting strong demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence computing.

The broader Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index added 3.77% as most chip stocks rallied.

A string of robust U.S. economic data eased concerns that the Federal Reserve may be cutting rates aggressively to curb any slowdown.

Weekly jobless claims fell more than anticipated, signaling a steady labor market, while the final reading of gross domestic product confirmed that the economy grew 3% in the second quarter.

"It (the GDP number) just kind of reinforces that strong economic growth backdrop that we have been seeing," said Mike Dickson, head of research at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The benchmark S&P 500 closed up 23.11 points, or 0.40%, at 5,745.37, after rising to a record intraday high of 5,767.37.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 260.36 points, or 0.62%, to 42,175.11. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 108.09 points, or 0.60%, to 18,190.29.

Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors climbed, led by materials, which rose 1.97%.

The S&P 500 and Dow have hit multiple record highs this year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is about 2% shy of its own milestone. Market rallies have been driven by optimism surrounding AI and expectations of lower interest rates.

Metal prices got a boost after China pledged to deploy "necessary fiscal spending." Copper miners such as Freeport-McMoRan gained 7.45%, while lithium miners including Albemarle and Arcadium added 9.92%.

"The story driving the market absolutely has to do with the Chinese stimulus and the announcement of the support that the government's willing to provide to help just boost consumer health there (and) reduce real estate pressures," Dickson added.

However, energy stocks lost 2%, tracking crude prices that slid on expectations of greater supply by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. [O/R]

The Russell 2000 index tracking small caps outperformed the broader market with a 0.62% gain.

Late on Wednesday, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler said she "strongly supported" the central bank's decision to kick off monetary policy easing last week.

Investors have been swaying between a 25- and 50-basis point cut since the Fed commenced its easing cycle, with bets favoring a bigger cut now, up from 38.8% a week ago, the CME Group's FedWatch Tool showed.

U.S.-listed Chinese firms such as Li Auto <LI.O> gained 7.13%, PDD Holdings <PDD.O> advanced 13.28%, while Alibaba <BABA.N> added 10.08%.

Shares of Wells Fargo gained 5.19% after a report showed the banking giant had sent the Fed a review for lifting asset cap restrictions.

Southwest Airlines gained 5.42% after the carrier raised its third-quarter revenue forecast, while Accenture rose 5.57% after the IT services provider forecast annual revenue above estimates.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.94-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 626 new highs and 71 new lows on the NYSE.

The S&P 500 posted 50 new 52-week highs and two new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 95 new highs and 94 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.46 billion shares, compared with the 11.82 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

(Reporting by Echo Wang in New York; Additional reporting by Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva, Maju Samuel and Richard Chang)