Stock Market Today: S&P 500 closes above 5K for first time as tech powers ahead

Investing.com -- The S&P 500 closed above the 5,000 level Friday as the record run in stocks continued, underpinned by a rally in tech stocks and economic data showing inflation continues to trend lower. 

By 16:00 ET (21:00 GMT), the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to end the day at record high of 5,025.86, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%

Big tech jumps as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) eyes record valuation as AI optimism continues

Big tech continued to add to recent gains, with Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Microsoft in the ascendency as the latter's market capitalization of $3.125 trillion topped the record of $3.081T previously set by Apple. 

Chip stocks also inspired the rally in tech as chip demand will ramp up as the artificial-intelligence boom strengthens.    

"We are in inning 1 of the AI Revolution, a revolution that is going to touch everyone and everything, one that every major company has to contemplate how it will or is affecting its business today and in the near future," Jay Pelosky, TPW Advisory Founder and Principal said in a note.

Inflation continues to trend lower

A revised print of U.S. consumer price index data showed that the annualized rate of inflation in the fourth quarter was unchanged at 3.3%, suggesting that an easing in price pressures throughout last year is still in tact.

The revisions, however, are unlikely to alter the Fed's course on rates, Scotiabank Economics said, as a "very strong US economy and job market plus rising global transportation costs are among the factors that are keeping the Fed cautious."

PepsiCo , Take-Two, Pinterest punished for softer guidance 

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) reported mixed-quarter results and cut its guidance as the food and beverage pricing power wanes and volumes come under pressure. its shares ended more than 3% lower.

Still, more favorable movements in currency, and Pepsi outlook for dollar EPS of $8.15, should "actually result in a slightly positive earnings revision for 2024 based on current Street estimates," Wedbush said in a note.

Shares in Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) tumbled nearly 10% after the social media company missed fourth-quarter revenue expectations and issued soft guidance for the March quarter.

Some on Wall Street, however, continued to flag the company's current valuation as a concern, which is "pricing in a lot of upside despite the immaterial contribution today," UBS said in a note.

Take-Two (NASDAQ:TTWO) Interactive has cut its annual bookings guidance, citing projected softness for titles like "NBA 2K24" and a planned release moving out of its fiscal fourth quarter. Shares in the video game publisher fell more than 8%.

Cloudflare shines brightly on earnings stage

Cloudflare (NYSE:NET), meanwhile, jumped 21% after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results and upbeat guidance, driven by new customer wins. 

Bitcoin bounce powers crypto stocks

Bitcoin rose more than 4%, helping crypto-related stocks including , Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MARA), Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT), CleanSpark Inc (NASDAQ:CLSK) rally, with latter also helped by Q1 results that topped Wall Street. 

The latest surge in bitcoin comes amid recent signs that interest in the Bitcoin-spot exchange traded fund is attracting interest. 

The BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) iShares Bitcoin Trust has racked in funds, becoming one of the top five exchange-traded funds of 2024 by inflows, according to recent data from Bloomberg Intelligence.