March 1(Reuters) - The Nasdaq (.IXIC), opens new tab hit an intra-day record high on Friday for the first time in more than two years, as chipmakers and technology stocks latched on to a rally sparked by Nvidia's AI optimism.
The index has surged more than 57% from its lows in December 2022 and was last up 0.7% at 16,224.626 points, beating its previous intra-day high of 16,212.23 points, hit on Nov. 22, 2021.
The Nasdaq closed at a new high on Thursday, surpassing for the first time the previous record closing high hit in November 2021.
The benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab had confirmed a bull market in January, hitting several all-time highs and even crossing above the psychological 5,000-point mark for the first time in February.
Renewed euphoria around AI spurred by Nvidia's (NVDA.O), opens new tab stellar forecast on Feb. 21 has led to strong gains in tech and tech-adjacent stocks, helping offset the gloom from tempered bets of early interest-rate cuts.
Nvidia, now the third most-valuable Wall Street company, crossed $2 trillion in market capitalization for the first time on Feb 23.
Shares of Nvidia climbed 3.4%, while rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), opens new tab gained 3.8% to a record high. The broader
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (.SOX), opens new tab advanced 3.3% to an all-time peak.
The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have gained 8.0% and 7.4%, respectively, so far this year, following a double-digit jump in 2023.
Reporting by Ankika Biswas, Johann M Cherian and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur
