S&P 500 crosses 4,000 for the first time after Biden unveils $2.25 trillion spending plan for infrastructure

Technology shares, led by chipmakers, have seen major gains as investors’ sentiment lifted on strong optimism about US economic growth, along with a buoyant earnings outlook by US computer chip maker Micron.

The S&P 500, which tracks the stock performances of 500 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the US, jumped 0.8% to cross the 4,000 mark for the first time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.25% to 33,062.

Meanwhile, broad market index also set an all-time intraday high as the Nasdaq rose 1.74%.Seven of the eleven S&P sectors grew, with technology and communication services gaining more than 1.5%.

Stocks reportedly jumped after US President Joe Biden announced a massive infrastructure spending plan totaling $2.25 trillion. The proposal comes as the first of a two-part program to help the nation’s economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The plan includes a doubling of federal funding for public transportation, $650 billion for clean water and high-speed broadband, more than $500 billion in spending on manufacturing, and $400 billion for improved care for the elderly and people with disabilities.

The forthcoming report on the US jobs market, which is expected to reveal that massive fiscal stimulus and vaccination drive is helping the labor market to recover, also boosted sentiment, as investors shrug off the latest data from last week, about the rise in the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits.  

Micron Technology has turned up the heat after gaining 4.8% on a better-than-expected forecast for third-quarter revenues amid higher demand for memory chips.

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