S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares are rising strongly on Friday, up 0.64% to 8,801 points at the time of writing.
This follows an impressive night on Wall Street with all three major United States indexes closing at record highs.
The benchmark S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) rose 0.48% and reached another record closing value of 6,656.8 points.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) lifted 0.27% and also hit a new record close of 46,317.52 points.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) had the best night, rising 0.94% to a record close of 22,540.93 points.
A US$5 billion deal between Nvidia and Intel Corp excited the US market, with the tech stocks rising 3.5% and 23%, respectively.
Nvidia announced it will invest US$5 billion into Intel, and the two rival companies will form a new product partnership.
Intel will design custom computer processing units (CPUs) for the chip maker.
Last night's new records follow the US Federal Reserve cutting interest rates for the first time since December 2024.
While this signals concerns about the US economy, every rate cut introduces new liquidity into the market as people go 'risk on'.
Wall Street's lead has provided a tailwind for ASX 200 tech shares today, with the sector up 1% at the time of writing.
Among the ASX tech sector's largest players, Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) is rising fastest, up 3.6% to $52.10 currently.
The share price of the popular family location app provider reached a new all-time high of $52.40 in earlier trading.
But tech shares are not the best performers among the 11 ASX 200 market sectors today.
ASX 200 healthcare shares are topping the charts with a 2.25% gain for the sector on Friday.
The healthcare sector heavyweights are all rising strongly.
At the time of writing, the CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) share price is up 2.4% to $203.09.
Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) shares are up 2.4% to $3.02.
Sector darling Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) is up 6.8% to $319.18 per share.
Image source: Getty Images
9 ASX 200 shares setting new records today
Here are the ASX 200 shares that have hit 52-week highs, or in some cases multi-year highs, today.
| ASX 200 share | 52-week high |
| Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT) | $18.22 |
| SEEK Ltd (ASX: SEK) | $29.31 |
| ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ) | $19.96 |
| Life360 Inc. (ASX: 360) | $52.40 |
| Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) | $4.75 |
| Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) | 68 cents |
| Regis Healthcare Ltd (ASX: REG) | $9.40 |
| Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU) | $20.83 |
| Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP) | $3.55 |
