Nasdaq ends at record high as U.S. stocks post solid weekly gains

The Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, US, on Friday, April 4, 2025.

The Nasdaq posted a second straight record Friday as U.S. equities concluded a winning week on an upbeat note amid optimism over artificial intelligence and less uncertainty over trade policy.

All three major indices finished solidly higher, with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index up one per cent at 21,450.02, its second all-time closing high in a row.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5 per cent to 44,175.61, while the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.8 per cent to 6,389.45, narrowly missing a record.

“We’re back into that mode where AI enthusiasm has been renewed and continues to fuel the gains,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior global investment strategist at Edward Jones.

Investors took reassurance from the Trump administration’s willingness to exempt the semiconductor industry from onerous tariffs if companies commit to investing in the United States.

“Part of the relief was that the tariffs on a very important sector around the US outlook on earnings, which is tech and AI, is mostly left unaffected,” Kourkafas said.

Apple, which pledged increased US investment at a White House meeting this week, rose significantly for the third straight day with 4.2 per cent gain.

Other large tech names with outsized increases included Netflix, Google parent Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta.

Among other names, Expedia rose 4.1 per cent as the travel company lifted its annual earnings and revenue projections. The company cited strength in advertising and in its business-to-business bookings.