Aug 18 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 index hit an all-time high on
Tuesday, completing its recovery from the stock market crash
after the onset of the coronavirus crisis in February.
The index was up at 3,394.99 points at 09:48 a.m. ET,
topping the high of 3,393.52 hit on Feb. 19 and further
underlining the disconnect between a rally driven by trillions
in official stimulus and a recession-hit U.S. economy.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite .IXIC in June was the
first of the three major U.S. stock indexes to reclaim record
highs as investors gravitated to stocks including Amazon.com
AMZN.O and Netflix NFLX.O seen as stay-at-home winners from
COVID-19 lockdowns.
It has taken the benchmark S&P 500 about two months longer
as surging COVID-19 cases sparked fears of another round of
shutdowns that would again cripple business activity.
On the day, the S&P 500 gained 0.4% putting it up about 55%
from March's lows. The Nasdaq gained 0.6% to hit a record high
and the Dow Jones Industrials, which is still about 6% off its
February highs, added 0.1%.
Of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the technology index
.SPLRCT , which includes Apple Inc AAPL.O and Microsoft Corp
MSFT.O , has climbed about 25% this year, while the consumer
discretionary .SPLRCD index, which includes Amazon, has jumped
22%.
Closing at a record high, according to a widely accepted
definition, would confirm that the S&P 500 has been in a new
bull market since its pandemic low on March 23.