AI tide lifts Nasdaq to record intra-day high

(Reuters) -The Nasdaq hit an intra-day record high on Friday for the first time in more than two years, as chipmakers and technology stocks latched on to a rally sparked by Nvidia's AI optimism.

The index has surged more than 57% from its lows in December 2022 and was last up 0.7% at 16,224.626 points, beating its previous intra-day high of 16,212.23 points, hit on Nov. 22, 2021.

The Nasdaq closed at a new high on Thursday, surpassing for the first time the previous record closing high hit in November 2021.

The benchmark S&P 500 had confirmed a bull market in January, hitting several all-time highs and even crossing above the psychological 5,000-point mark for the first time in February.

Renewed euphoria around AI spurred by Nvidia's stellar forecast on Feb. 21 has led to strong gains in tech and tech-adjacent stocks, helping offset the gloom from tempered bets of early interest-rate cuts.

Nvidia, now the third most-valuable Wall Street company, crossed $2 trillion in market capitalization for the first time on Feb 23.

Shares of Nvidia climbed 3.4%, while rival Advanced Micro Devices gained 3.8% to a record high. The broader Philadelphia Semiconductor Index advanced 3.3% to an all-time peak.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have gained 8.0% and 7.4%, respectively, so far this year, following a double-digit jump in 2023.

(Reporting by Ankika Biswas, Johann M Cherian and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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