S&P, Nasdaq post fresh record highs on optimism about Biden stimulus plan

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted fresh record highs on Thursday hovered by optimism about more pandemic relief from the Biden administration to lift the virus-hit economy.

The Nasdaq Composite improved its best record, advancing 73.67 points, or 0.55%, to 13,530.92 after getting a big boost from soaring shares of megacap stocks such as Alphabet Inc, Apple Inc, and Amazon.com Inc ahead of their earnings reports in the coming weeks. The S&P 500 added 1.22 points, or 0.03%, to 3,853.07.

The S&P 500 recorded 24 new 52-week highs and no new lows and the Nasdaq Composite tallied 216 new highs and five new lows.

Meanwhile, The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 12.37 points, or 0.04%, to 31,176.01.

In his first few days in office, U.S. President Joe Biden has introduced several initiatives including robust testing and inoculations.

Based on Jan. 15 Refinitv data, earnings at S&P 500 companies are estimated to climb 24% in 2021 following a 15% downturn in 2020.