Wall Street's frenzy around artificial intelligence helped push stocks to their best level in more than 15 months on Tuesday, along with stronger-than-expected profit reports from several big financial companies. The S&P 500 rose 32.19, or 0.7%, to 4,554.98 and its highest finish since early April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 366.58, or 1.1%, to 34,951.93, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 108.69, or 0.8%, to 14,353.64. Microsoft was the biggest single force pushing up the S&P 500, by far. It shook off a morning loss and rose 4% after announcing the pricing for some artificial-intelligence services, the AP reports.
The company will charge $30 per user per month for its Microsoft 365 Copilot, which Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called a "flex-the-muscles move." Wall Street has sent a select group of stocks soaring this year on hopes that AI will drive tremendous growth in profits and herald a revolution for the global economy. Besides Microsoft's nearly 50% gain for the year, Nvidia has more than tripled. Stocks in the financial industry also drove the market higher. Charles Schwab jumped 12.6% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the spring than analysts expected. It was one of several big financial companies to report better results than forecast, including Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.
"We continue to see a healthy US economy that is growing at a slower pace, with a resilient job market," Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said while reporting results for the nation's second-largest bank. Its stock rose 4.4%. On the losing end was Masimo, which makes medical equipment and also runs a consumer audio business home to the Bowers & Wilkins and Denon brands. It tumbled 20% after it said it expects to report weaker-than-expected revenue for the spring, in part because of fewer patients at US hospitals. It also said a decline in demand for audio products has moved up from the lower end to the premium and luxury end.
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