By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The S&P 500 hit a fresh intraday record Thursday, as megacap tech rebounded from its recent malaise but the bid up in cyclicals faded even as Wall Street touted further gains ahead.
The S&P 500 rose 0.18% to keep close to its intraday record of 4,458.10, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.04%, or 13 points after hitting a record high of 35,510.77. The Nasdaq was up 0.2%.
Megacap tech stocks were in the ascendency, to keep the overall tech sector trending above the flatline following pressure from Intel and Micron.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) were higher.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) fell sharply, dragging semiconductor stocks into the red after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) delivered a cautious note on the outlook for the sector amid worries of a glut in memory supply on the horizon.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Micron to equal-weight from overweight and slashed its price target on the stock to $105 to $75, sending its shares more than 6% lower.
The strength in megacap tech, meanwhile, appeared to come at the expense of economically-sensitive cyclicals, with energy and industrials in the red.
Energy was the biggest sector decliner on the day as oil remained under pressure a day after the White House called on OPEC and its allies to boost production to support the global recovery.
Analysts, however, have said that the current production agreement struck by OPEC and its allies will keep the oil market balanced.
"It remains to be seen whether OPEC+ will comply with the US wishes. In our opinion, the production hikes that have been announced are enough to keep the oil market largely balanced," Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) said in a note.
The broader weakness in cyclicals could prove short lived as some on Wall Street forecast that the bottom is in for cyclicals, with gains expected ahead.
"We believe that bond yields and cyclicals bottomed last week and are now on an upward trajectory for the rest of the year," according to JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) chief global markets strategist Marko Kolanovic.
In earnings news, Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL) reported a surprise quarterly loss that was overshadowed by positive third-quarter outlook, sending the online dating platform' shares more than 7% higher.
Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) jumped 11% after its quarterly results beat analysts' expectations on both the top and bottom lines.
Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ:RIDE) reported a wider quarterly losses, but announced that it would get limited production of its Endurance pickup truck underway in September.