Apple Leads Big Tech Higher and Closes at a Record

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of mega-cap technology and internet companies rose on Monday, with the group extending strong 2020 advances.

Apple Inc. rose 3.6% to end at an all-time closing high, though it fell short of reaching an intraday record. The stock has risen more than 85% this year, and it is poised to close out its second straight annual gain above 80%.

The stock is up more than 25% since the start of November, with recent gains coming on a report that Apple plans to build a self-driving car and is targeting 2024 to produce the vehicle. In a note dated Dec. 27, Piper Sandler wrote that an electric-vehicle revenue stream “could add another leg of growth in addition to a higher multiple” for Apple.

Among other stocks, Facebook Inc. rose 3.6% on Monday, Amazon.com Inc. added 3.5%, and Google-parent Alphabet Inc. climbed 2.3%. Microsoft Corp. closed up 1%, as did Netflix Inc. All have outperformed the broader market this year; Alphabet is the weakest performer of the bunch, up 32%, but that move is still roughly double the 15.6% rise of the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 Information Technology Index rose 1.2% to close at a record. The Nasdaq-100 Index added 1% on Monday, roughly in line with the 0.9% gain of the S&P 500, which hit an all-time high. Broader markets got a boost after President Trump signed a $2.3 trillion Covid-19 relief and government funding package.

While big-cap tech rose, some of the market’s most prominent “stay-at-home” stocks underperformed. Zoom Video Communications fell 6.3%, while Peloton Interactive lost 6.5% and Shopify declined 6.4%.

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