Traders
work
on
the
floor
of
the
New
York
Stock
Exchange.
Brendan
McDermid
|
Reuters
Futures
tied
to
the
Dow
Jones
Industrial
Average
traded
near
flat
Thursday
night,
after
the
preceding
session
brought
much
fanfare,
with
the
blue-chip
average
briefly
touching
the
key
40,000
milestone
for
the
first
time.
Futures
connected
to
the
30-stock
index
added
just
8
points.
S&P
500
futures
and
Nasdaq
100
futures
also
both
traded
near
their
flatlines.
While
it
was
a
modestly
down
day
for
the
three
major
averages,
there
was
no
shortage
of
excitement
among
market
participants.
The
Dow
reached
an
intraday
high
of
40,051.05,
above
the
psychologically
important
40,000
level,
before
pulling
back
to
end
the
day
down
0.1%.
“The
Dow’s
remarkable
rise
has
exceeded
many
expectations,
including
my
own,
but
our
perspective
remains
unchanged,”
said
Todd
Morgan,
chairman
at
Bel
Air
Investment
Advisors.
“Through
wars,
recessions,
elections,
impeachments,
financial
crises
and
on
and
on,
investing
for
the
long
term
in
high-quality
stocks
is
the
key
to
building
wealth.”
The
broad
S&P
500
retreated
about
0.2%
on
Thursday
after
breaking
above
the
closely
watched
5,300
level
for
the
first
time
a
day
prior.
Meanwhile,
the
Nasdaq
Composite
finished
Thursday’s
session
down
nearly
0.3%
after
also
reaching
an
all-time
high.
These
milestones
come
amid
hopes
that
rates
have
peaked,
according
to
Thomas
Martin,
senior
portfolio
manager
at
Globalt
Investments.
Continued
optimism
around
artificial
intelligence
and
corporate
earnings
growth
also
helped
push
the
market
into
these
uncharted
waters,
he
added.
Despite
the
weak
end
to
Thursday’s
session,
the
indexes
are
on
track
to
end
the
week
with
gains.
The
Nasdaq
Composite
is
leading
the
way
with
a
2.2%
advance,
followed
by
the
S&P
500’s
1.4%
rise.
The
Dow
is
tracking
to
close
the
week
0.9%
higher.
This
week’s
ascent
has
helped
propel
the
three
indexes
into
positive
territory
for
the
second
quarter
despite
a
tough
start.
The
S&P
500
and
Nasdaq
are
now
each
up
more
than
11%
in
2024,
while
the
Dow
has
climbed
more
than
5%
on
the
year.
Investors
will
watch
for
leading
indicators
data
due
Friday
morning.
There
are
no
major
financial
reports
from
companies
expected
as
earnings
season
winds
down.
