LIVE MARKETS-S&P 500, Nasdaq advance with AI in charge

Of course there were some record closes from the S&P 400 mid-cap index, the Nasdaq biotechnology index, the Russell 2000 small-cap index, the S&P 500 banks, the S&P 500 value index and the S&P equal-weight index.

Real estate ended up being the top performer among the benchmark index's 11 major industry sectors, adding 1.08%. But, sticking with the AI theme, its biggest percentage gainers were in the data center business with Equinix and Digital Realty Trust both adding more than 3%.

The S&P 500 technology sector's 1.06% advance put it neck-and-neck with real estate. Gains were lopsided, though, with a steep slant in favor of the chip sector, which contributed a 33.5-index-point boost. S&P 500 software and services index fell 1.5%, however. Still, it was only its third daily loss out of the last 14 sessions.

The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished higher on Wednesday as the AI trade appeared to be back on with a vengeance, at least for the day.

For example, CoreWeave and Super Micro Computer rallied 19% each as both stocks took off at a sprint after their earnings reports and upbeat forecasts signaled booming demand for computing capacity to support AI.

Enthusiasm spread to other companies benefiting from the AI boom including Nebius Group, which vaulted 34%. Data center companies Applied Digital and Iren added 4.9% and 9.9% respectively while Dell Technologies also added 9.9%.

Also in the unpopular department was the consumer discretionary sector, which fell 1.4% on the day and was the weakest of all the sectors. Interestingly its biggest loser was apparel and handbag purveyor Tapestry, which sank 4% in the last session ahead of its quarterly report, due out on Thursday morning. Lululemon doesn't tend to report until early September, but it fell 3.8% as the second-biggest discretionary loser behind Tapestry.