by CIO Staff

Tech Shares Boost Nasdaq to 5-Year Peak

News
Mar 30, 20062 mins
IT Leadership

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks rebounded as tech shares shot up due to increased optimism regarding economic growth and business spending, boosting the Nasdaq to its highest level since early 2001, Reuters reports via Yahoo News.

Preceding the company’s addition to the S&P 500, Google’s shares jumped, and Microsoft’s ongoing antitrust tribulations with the European Union (EU) helped to bump up Apple Computer, after the EU warned the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant of potential antitrust issues with its new operating system, Vista, according to Reuters.

Every major industry sector was up on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

The Nasdaq index reached an important technical level at 2,333, its highest since February 2001, further accelerating the gains, according to Reuters.

Apple was the top positive influence of the Nasdaq 100, with shares gaining 6.2 percent as a result of the EU’s concerns regarding Vista, Reuters reports. Apple’s stock closed at $62.33, up $3.62 from $58.71, according to Reuters.

Index fund managers raced to buy Google shares before its addition to the S&P 500 on Friday, sending shares up 4.7 percent, or $17.78, to $394.98 at Nasdaq closing on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

Brokerage Cowen & Co. issued “outperform” ratings to wireless technology makers, including Qualcomm and Motorola, causing Qualcomm’s Nasdaq stock to bump up 2.8 percent, or $1.36, to $50.72, and leading Motorola’s New York Stock Exchange shares to jump 3.8 percent, or 84 cents, to $22.78, according to Reuters.

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