Stock Market Sees Mixed Performance Amid Strong AI and Semiconductor Stocks

Tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.3% while the Dow dropped 0.4%. Strong performances in AI, networking and semiconductor sectors offset a dip in new home sales and housing stocks. Treasury yields slid to a two-month low.

After surging by as much as 1.3 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day up 48.88 points (0.3%) to 19,075.26. The S&P 500 eked out a more modest gain, inching up 0.81 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,956.06 while the narrower Dow bucked the uptrend and slid 188.04 points (0.4%) to 43,433.12.

The AI darling and market leader pulled back off its best levels but closed up by 3.7% ahead of the release of its fourth quarter financial results. The Commerce Department released a report showing a substantial pullback by new home sales in the U.S. in the month of January. new home sales plunged by 10.5% to an annual rate of 657,000 in January after spiking by 8.1% to an upwardly revised rate of 734,000 in December.

Networking stocks were substantially strong, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index surging by 2.8%. semiconductor stocks were significantly strong, as reflected by the 2.1% jump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Computer hardware, gold and brokerage stocks too were notably strong while housing stocks came under pressure over the course of the session.

Asia-Pacific stocks turned in a mixed performance. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.3% while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index spiked by 3.3%. The major European markets all moved to the upside on the day while the German DAX Index shot up by 1.6%, the French CAC 40 Index surged by 1.2% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7%.

In the bond market, treasuries moved higher over the course of the session, adding to recent gains. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slid 4.9 bps to a new two-month closing low of 4.24%.

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