Nasdaq 100 posts first record closing high since February
We’re so back.
The Nasdaq 100 ended Tuesday above its previous peak of 22,175.60 from February 19 to set a new closing record.
The tech-heavy gauge, which is tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF, entered a short-lived bear market amid the breakdown of AI-geared momentum trades and the announcement of onerous tariffs earlier this year. That ended on April 8, thanks to the more than 20% gain from that time through early June after levies on imports were watered down or put on ice.
The AI trade has recovered, in accordance with Wall Street’s expectations. The DeepSeek-induced shock faded with hyperscalers doubling and tripling down on their massive capex plans and tech companies booking multibillion-dollar deals with entities in the Middle East as sovereign AI spending stepped up to offer more support for the boom.
Palantir is the best-performing stock in the index this year, with other prominent names like Micron, Netflix, Constellation Energy, and DoorDash also in the top 10.
The Nasdaq 100 is a teensy bit more expensive than it was at the time of its prior record high, but 12-month forward earnings expectations for the index are nearly back at a high and have risen by more than profit estimates for the S&P 500 year to date.