Cisco helps Wall Street extend streak of record highs

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks eked out enough gains on Thursday for the three main indexes to notch a record intraday high for the sixth straight session, helped by gains in Cisco.

The rally was sparked a week back by President Donald Trump's vow of a 'phenomenal' tax announcement. Robust economic data has also been a boost, while bank stocks have risen on prospects of an upcoming interest rate hike.

Trump tweeted on Thursday: "Stock market hits new high with longest winning streak in decades. Great level of confidence and optimism - even before tax plan rollout!"

"The market is likely to take a breather after recklessly rising to continued record highs without a pause," Perter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial wrote in a note.

 

This type of action is due to the market expecting a perfect fiscal reform and that maybe placed on hold, he said.

The S&P 500 technology index rose 0.29 percent and gave the broader index its biggest boost. Cisco, which jumped 2.8 percent to $33.76 was the top stock on the three main indexes.

Adding to strong data points of late, a Labor Department report Thursday that showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose less than expected last week.

At 9:38 a.m. ET (1438 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 14.36 points, or 0.07 percent, at 20,626.22, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 10.13 points, or 0.17 percent, at 5,829.57.

The S&P 500 was up 0.96 points, or 0.04 percent, at percent, at 2,350.21. The index ended higher for the seventh session in a row on Wednesday, its first such streak since September 2013.

Six of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with utilities and real estate gaining the most, after two straight days of losses.

NetEase jumped nearly 10 percent to $287.19 following the Chinese online game developer's revenue beat.

Molina Healthcare tumbled 16 percent to $50.35 after the health insurer reported a fourth-quarter loss and forecast 2017 profit far below estimates.

Alexion Pharma rose 2.9 percent to $135.84 after the company gave a 2017 revenue forecast that a Leerink analyst said would likely quell investor concerns.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,425 to 1,132. On the Nasdaq, 1,231 issues rose and 972 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed 39 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 75 new highs and eight new lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)