Nasdaq and S&P 500 at new record on strong tech profits

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32453119

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(Close): The Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed at new record highs after US tech firms reported strong first quarter profits.

The index rose 36.02 points to close at 5,092.08. It ended Thursday at a record high, surpassing a level it last reached in 2000 at the height of the dot-com bubble.

The S&P 500 index gained 4.76 points to 2,117.69, a new high.

The Dow Jones added 21.45 points to finish the week at 18,080.14.

Amazon was the biggest winner on the Nasdaq. It boosted the tech-heavy index significantly, after shares in the firm rose by by more than 14%, in the wake of revelations about its cloud computing services on Thursday. The company's value now stands at $206.7bn (£136.1bn).

The Dow's leader was Microsoft, which saw its share price spike over 10% after it beat growth expectations.

Time Warner Cable's shares rose slightly, notching a 0.57% gain, after the cable TV giant announced it had abandoned its $45bn proposed takeover of rival Comcast, whose shares also closed slightly higher, up by 0.69%.

Xerox was one of the biggest losers on the Nasdaq, closing down 8.75%. On Thursday, the office supplies company reported a 6% fall in quarterly revenue.