It's been a decent hump day for ASX shares so far this Wednesday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this morning climbed 0.52% and was sitting just below 8,220 points — a whisker off its all-time high of 8,295.7 points. It has since retraced to 8,177.5 points.
But let's talk about the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV).
Unlike the ASX 200, the iShares S&P 500 exchange-traded fund (ETF) has hit a new all-time high today. IVV units closed at $56.34 each yesterday afternoon. But this morning, those same units opened at $56.74 before pushing as high as $56.80. That's this index fund's new all-time high for ASX investors.
At the time of writing, the iShares S&P 500 ETF is sitting right on $56.72, up 0.67% for the day so far this Wednesday.
Today's new all-time high for this popular index fund is just the latest in what has been an extraordinary few months (and years).
Year to date, IVV units are now sitting on a healthy 21.74% rise. That extends to 26.66% over the past 12 months, not even including dividend returns. Over the past five years, IVV's ASX investors have enjoyed a 94.75% capital gain. Check that all out for yourself below:
How have IVV units just hit a new ASX all-time high?
Like any index fund, IVV's performance is driven by the value of its underlying portfolio. In this case, that would be the largest 500 shares listed on the American stock markets. Overnight, we saw the S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP: .INX) climb 0.97% to 5,751.13 points, just a tad off of its own record high of 5,767.37 points.
The ASX's IVV ETF is probably running slightly ahead of its benchmark on our stock market today thanks to the impact of currency exchange rates.
This big push higher for S&P 500 shares last night was driven by the largest stocks on the American markets – the 'magnificent seven' tech titans.
For example, last night's trading saw Apple stock rise 1.84% to US$225.77 a share. Microsoft stock was right behind that with a 1.26% gain. Meta Platforms ticked up by 1.39%, while Tesla spiked 1.52%.
But semiconductor giant Nvidia Corporation is the one ASX investors should probably thank the most for today's new IVV highs. Last night's session saw Nvidia shares vault 4.05% higher to US$132.89 a share.
Nvidia stock accounts for 6.3% of IVV's current underlying portfolio alone, with Apple and Microsoft with another 7.07% and 6.34%, respectively. So, it's not hard to see why the ASX's IVV units are pushing higher today.
We are also seeing similar moves in other US-heavy index funds. For example, the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) has also clocked a new record high of its own today. VGS units are currently up 0.57% at $128.05 each after touching $128.14 earlier this morning.
Let's see if this week will bring more all-time highs for these ASX index funds.
