S&P 500 Nears Record as SK Hynix Debut, Earnings Hopes Lift Wall Street

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 finishing just shy of a record high, as the successful market debut of chipmaker SK Hynix bolstered technology shares and investors turned their focus to the upcoming corporate earnings season.

Major Indices End Week on a High Note

The S&P 500 gained 0.42% to close at 7,575.39 points, leaving it just 0.45% below its record high from early June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29% to 52,637.01, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.29% to end at 26,281.61.

For the week, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted gains of 1.2% and 1.7%, respectively, though the Dow slipped by 0.5%. Trading volume was relatively light at 14.5 billion shares, compared to the 20-session average of 22.4 billion, according to the source.

SK Hynix IPO Ignites Tech Sector

Market sentiment was significantly buoyed by the blockbuster U.S. listing of South Korean memory-chip giant SK Hynix. The company raised over $26 billion by selling American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) priced at $149 each.

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The ADRs finished their first day of trading at $170, a 13% increase from the offering price, reigniting optimism in the artificial intelligence trade. Information Technology was the S&P 500's top-performing sector, rising 1.65%, while the broader PHLX semiconductor index edged up 0.06%.

Investors Await Key Earnings and Data

With the week concluded, investor attention is now shifting to the second-quarter earnings season, which kicks off next week with reports from major U.S. banks. According to LSEG I/B/E/S data, analysts project that S&P 500 earnings grew by 24% from the same period a year earlier.

"This is a high-bar quarter with a narrow margin of error," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, as quoted by Reuters. "The banks will give us a good read on the underlying economic strength and what consumers and businesses are doing." In addition to corporate profits, market participants will be closely watching next week's June inflation data for insight into the Federal Reserve's potential policy path.