Investing.com - The Australian Stock Exchange added 0.3% after the first 30 minutes of Friday's trade, emulating the upward trajectory of the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite indices, which saw late gains driven by a rally in mega-cap tech stocks.
The NASDAQ Composite concluded at an all-time high, surpassing its previous record set in November 2021. The S&P 500, setting its 14th record high this year, gained 5.2% over the month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, having its fourth consecutive month of gains, increased by 2.2%.
Among data, the Core PCE Price Index , an inflation indicator closely observed by the Federal Reserve, registered a higher figure in January than in December, as anticipated. This eased concerns about the economic outlook, with last month's prices only 2.4% higher than the same period last year - the smallest annual increase in almost three years.
Bridgewater Associates' billionaire founder, Ray Dalio, in a LinkedIn post, dismissed the idea that U.S. equities or the "Magnificent Seven" mega-cap tech stocks are in a bubble. He argued that the current market levels are not in line with past bubbles. Dalio also suggested that Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Meta are somewhat underpriced, while Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is somewhat overpriced. However, he acknowledged a degree of uncertainty due to his lack of expertise in the field of generative AI, which analysts are expecting to drive growth.
In local corporate news, Life360 Inc (ASX:360) is set to report its results on Friday. Several companies, including AMP Ltd (ASX:AMP), ASX Ltd (ASX:ASX), Ampol Ltd (ASX:ALD), Appen Ltd (ASX:APX), Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX:CWY), Johns Lyng Group Ltd (ASX:JLG), Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:MIN), Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX:SHL), and Stanmore Resources Limited (ASX:SMR), will trade ex-dividend on Friday.
CoreLogic's latest data revealed a 0.6% rise in national home prices in February, marking the most significant monthly gain since October. CommSec attributed this increase to a 1.8% jump in Perth and a 1.1% gain in Adelaide. Sydney and Melbourne also saw positive growth, albeit modest, after a flat performance the previous month.
Shares in Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) soared nearly 8% overnight, pushing its market cap beyond $US300 billion for the first time. The company's shares have more than doubled since hitting a low in October