In the U.S., stock markets extended their rally with record highs on Wall Street once more. The S&P 500 surged 1% on Wednesday, achieving an all-time peak for the 37th time this year, surpassing 5,600 points for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also saw an increase of 1.1%, while the Nasdaq composite set a new record with a gain of 1.2%.

The surge was predominantly driven by prominent technology firms following a notable rise in revenue reported by a major chip supplier in June. The mounting interest in artificial intelligence technology and expectations of future interest rate cuts have been key drivers of the U.S. stock market’s remarkable ascent to record levels this year.

Specifically on Wednesday, the S&P 500 climbed by 56.93 points to 5,633.91, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 429.39 points to 39,721.36, the Nasdaq composite increased by 218.16 points to 18,647.45, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies went up by 22.28 points to 2,051.75.

Looking at the weekly performance, the S&P 500 has gained 66.72 points or 1.2%, the Dow rose by 345.49 points or 0.9%, the Nasdaq climbed by 294.69 points or 1.6%, and the Russell 2000 increased by 25.03 points or 1.2%.

Year-to-date data is also impressive, with the S&P 500 up by 864.08 points or 18.1%, the Dow rising by 2,031.82 points or 5.4%, the Nasdaq posting a gain of 3,636.10 points or 24.2%, and the Russell 2000 index up by 24.68 points or 1.2%.