Key points:

  • The Nasdaq posted its fifth straight record closing high.
  • Adobe shares soared 14.5% after raising its full-year revenue forecast.
  • The EU could bring charges against Apple and Meta Platforms for non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) before the summer.

The Nasdaq posted its fifth consecutive record closing high as of last Friday. Shares of Adobe and other technology companies pushed the index higher, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones ended the day slightly lower.

While the S&P 500 failed to maintain its four-day streak of record closes, it still managed to post gains of more than 1% for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 57.94 points, or 0.15%, to 38,589.16. The S&P 500 fell 2.14 points, or 0.04%, to 5,431.6. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite added 21.32 points, or 0.12%, to 17,688.88.

Adobe shares rose almost 15%

The S&P 500 technology sector rose 0.5%, reaching another record high closing level. The communications services sector (+0.6%) became the leader in growth among other sectors.

Adobe shares soared 14.5% on the day after the company raised its full-year revenue forecast. The rapid growth is being driven by demand for Adobe’s AI-powered software.

Despite the tech sector’s gains, the Dow was down 0.5% for the week, the S&P 500 was up 1.6% and the Nasdaq was up 3.2%.

Investors are still trying to gauge how soon the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates. On Wednesday, Fed policymakers revised their forecast, reducing the number of expected rate cuts this year from three to one.

Nvidia shares rose 1.8% after the company briefly overtook Apple in market capitalization to become the world’s second most valuable company.

Trading volume on US exchanges was 10.12 billion shares, below the average for the last 20 trading days (12.10 billion shares).

Apple and Meta may face EU charges

Meanwhile, tech giants such as Apple and Meta Platforms could face charges of failing to comply with landmark EU rules aimed at limiting their power before the summer.

The European Commission, which has launched an investigation into the two companies and Alphabet under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), considers Apple and Meta to be priority cases. The DMA requires big tech companies to give smaller rivals space to compete and make it easier for people to move between competing online services such as social media platforms, Internet browsers and app stores.

EU regulators plan to publish preliminary findings similar to the antitrust allegations before the summer holidays in August. Apple will be charged first, followed by Meta.

The EU investigation is targeting Apple’s governance rules, which regulators say impose restrictions that prevent app developers from informing users about offers outside the App Store for free, as well as new fees levied on app developers.