The Nasdaq Composite Index was on pace to book its best single-session point gains in more than 2 years on Friday as tech shares soared. The Nasdaq Composite Index was surging 134 points, or 2%, toward a fresh all-time high closing at 6,684, which would mark the best point and percentage gain since a 191.05-point, or 4.2%, climb for the technology-heavy index on Aug. 27, 2015, according to FactSet data. The Nasdaq is marching toward its best gain in 26 months on the back of a series of hotter-than-expected earnings from some of the biggest companies in technology, including Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. , which were both trading at record highs after posting quarterly results that surpassed analysts’ estimates. Meanwhile, a popular way to invest on the tech sector, the exchange-traded Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF , also was on pace to book its best daily climb since Aug. 26, 2015. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 index was up 0.8% at 2,579.92, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading up 30 points, or 0.1%, at 23,432, as shares of Chevron Corp. and Merck & Co. Inc. capped the blue-chip benchmark’s gains.
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