WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With technology stocks showing a substantial move to the upside, the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged to a new record closing high on Tuesday. The S&P 500 also advanced to a new record closing high, while the narrower Dow showed a modest move to the downside.
The Dow dipped 118.02 points or 0.2 percent to 50,461.68, but the S&P 500 climbed 45.65 points or 0.6 percent to 7,519.12 and the Nasdaq shot up 312.21 points or 1.2 percent to 26,656.18.
The jump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq came amid a sharp increase by shares of Micron Technology (MU), with the chipmaker soaring by 19.3 percent.
Micron surged after UBS increased its price target on the company's stock to $1,625, which would reflect a more than 100 percent spike compared to its closing price last Friday.
With Micron leading the way higher, semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the upside, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 5.5 percent to a record closing high.
Considerable strength was also visible among airline stocks, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 4 percent to its best intraday closing in almost three months.
Gold, steel and networking stocks also saw notable strength, while energy stocks came under pressure amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.
U.S. crude oil futures plunged by nearly 3 percent amid persistent optimism about an end to the U.S. war with Iran. President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday that negotiations with Iran 'are proceeding nicely!'
Traders seemingly shrugged off news the U.S. military launched what it described as 'self-defense' strikes in southern Iran, targeting missile sites and boats near the Strait of Hormuz.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Conference Board showed a modest deterioration in consumer confidence in the month of May.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dipped to 93.1 in May from an upwardly revised 93.8 in April.
Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to edge down to 92.0 from the 92.8 originally reported for the previous month.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.2 percent.
Most European stocks also moved to the downside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1 percent and the German DAX Index slid by 0.8 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the downtrend and rose by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries moved significantly higher, extending the upward move seen last Friday. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, tumbled 6.5 basis points to 4.493 percent.
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