Shares of banks and other financial institutions rose to all-time highs amid a global market boom.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 40000 for the first time in history. The index, comprised of banking, industrial, health-care and tech giants, is less closely tracked on Wall Street than the broader, and tech heavier S&P 500.
"The market loves these big round numbers, but it's easier to get there," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at brokerage LPL Financial. The Dow is the Main Street perception of how things are on Wall Street, Krosby said.
In an illustration of how Wall Street is cashing in on the artificial-intelligence boom, CoreWeave, an artificial-intelligence cloud-computing startup backed by Nvidia, raised $7.5 billion from investors including Blackstone, Carlyle Group and BlackRock in one of the largest-ever private debt financings. "The market is not in a delirium," said Krosby. "It doesn't mean, however, we will not see setbacks in this evolution but it's not going away. There will be pockets of concern, whether or not these companies should be valued at these levels and whether or not these new products are going to be attractively priced."
U.S. regulators have appointed two separate independent compliance monitors to ensure cryptocurrency exchange Binance meets the requirements set forth in its settlements over money-laundering and sanctions violations.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell contracted Covid-19 for the second time and is working from home while he recovers, the Fed said.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-17-24 1751ET
