MARKET REPORT: Wall St hits new record as Dow Jones rises above 38,000

Wall Street hit an all-time high last night amid an artificial intelligence-inspired tech boom.

On a banner day for investors, the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 38,000 mark for the first time, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq extended recent gains.

It came as a strong run among tech giants such as Apple, Google owner Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta pushed the indexes to set records.

On Friday, the S&P 500 – home to America’s top companies – hit a record high for the first time in two years, driven by growing hopes that demand for AI will deliver big profits for tech companies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to 38,061.65 yesterday before closing at 38,001.81. The Nasdaq rose another 0.4 percent.

John Higgins, chief market economist at research firm Capital Economics, said the index could go even higher.

“We think the hype will continue to grow and predict the S&P 500 will end at 5,500 in 2024,” he said.

Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at financial data group CFRA Research in New York, said: ‘AI will always remain in the background, but as we approach the next Fed meeting, much of the conversation will focus on the US central bank and virtually confirm that they will wait until May to cut interest rates.’

Key London markets also rebounded after their worst week since October, as hopes for early rate cuts faded.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent, or 25.78 points, to 7,487.71 and the FTSE 250 added 1.1 percent, or 204.23 points, to 19,075.64.

Shares in Trifast, a manufacturer of screws, nuts and bolts, plunged after the company issued a profit warning and unveiled plans to cut jobs.

The company said results for the 12 months to the end of March are likely to be ‘significantly below previous expectations’ with sales of around £230 million.

Stock Watch – SmartSpace Software

A bidding war has broken out for SmartSpace Software.

The technology group said yesterday it has received an offer of 90p per share – worth around £26 million – from Sign In Solutions, which is backed by PSG Equity.

SmartSpace will recommend the offer to shareholders if a formal offer is made before February 19.

The group is also considering an 82 cent offer submitted last month by Skedda, the online booking platform, which has until February 6 to make a firm bid.

Shares rose 26.9 percent, or 17.5p, to 82.5p.

That would be lower than the £244 million in turnover achieved the year before. Shares fell 21.5p percent, or 20p, to 73p.

The gloomy outlook for Trifast came after a difficult third quarter, which saw trading subdued in December. She expects such challenges to persist for the remainder of the fiscal year.

In a further blow, Trifast said a slowdown in customer demand and sales will see the group cut 10 percent of its non-operational staff across the world, a move that could save £3 million.

Real estate investment trust Segro made a profit after Citi analysts encouraged its clients to delve into the real estate sector.

The investment bank, which previously predicted sharp rent declines, expects growth as interest rates fall. The shares added 2.5 percent, or 20.6p, to 849.2p.

Mining giant Rio Tinto went the other way, following a downgrade from analysts at Morgan Stanley. Shares fell 1.7 percent, or 91p, to 5,288p.

Bodycote rose after the heat treatment company said it is preparing to launch a £60 million share buyback program in March. Shares rose 6.7 percent, or 40p, to 636p.

A Peel Hunt upgrade reinforced defense group Babcock. Shares rose 3.2 percent, or 13.6p, to 443.6p.

It was a good day for Brickability, after the latest acquisition took the number of companies bought to 14 since its 2019 surge.

The brick supplier has acquired TSL Assets, which has worked on projects including roof upgrades for Arsenal Football Club’s Emirates Stadium, Twickenham Stadium and a cafe at the Royal Botanical Gardens, in a deal worth up to £48m. Brickability shares rose 8.9 per cent, or 5p, to 61p.

Eden Research, the biopesticides maker, expects its revenues to rise by almost three-quarters to £3.1m by 2023.

And it is likely to have incurred an annual loss of £1.2 million, less than the £1.9 million analysts had estimated. Shares rose 4.9 percent, or 0.28p, to 5.9p.