Asian stocks began Thursday's session mixed as a rally that pushed global equities to a record high showed signs of stalling ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The dollar edged lower.

Japanese shares slipped, while those in South Korea and Australia traded flat. Futures on the S&P 500 dipped after a surge in technology shares earlier pushed that index and the Nasdaq Composite to fresh highs for a fourth consecutive day, while the MSCI All-Country World Index climbed to a record. U.S. durable goods orders were more than double estimates, indicating factories will help support the economic rebound in coming months. Treasuries edged up. The offshore yuan traded at the highest since January amid signs of tight liquidity.

How did major indexes fare?

The $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ closed up 83.48 points, or 0.3%, to end at 28,331.92; while the $S&P 500 index(.SPX.US)$ pushed 35.11 points, or 1%, higher, to close at 3,478.73. The $NASDAQ COMPOSITE(.IXIC.US)$ finished at 11,665.06, up 198.59 points for a gain of 1.7%.

The S&P 500 scored its 18th record close of the year and the Nasdaq marked its 39th all-time closing high of 2020. Meanwhile, the Dow closed within 1% of going positive for the year after the pandemic-induced turbulence in March. The blue-chip benchmark also stands 4.1% from its Feb. 12 record closing high at 29,551.41, according to FactSet data.

The Nasdaq-100 index ,composed of the biggest constituents in the Nasdaq by market value, surged by 2.1% to a record at 11,971.94, while the small-capitalization oriented Russell 2000 declined 0.7% at 1,560.19.

What drove the market?

Technology-related names surged Wednesday, powered primarily by $Tesla, Inc.(TSLA.US)$, $Amazon.Com Inc(AMZN.US)$ and $Netflix Inc(NFLX.US)$, extending a stratospheric run-up for large-cap tech and online-based companies.

Shares of $Salesforce.com Inc(CRM.US)$ surged nearly 26%, also helping to underpin appetite for the tech names after the cloud-based customer-relationship-management company announced quarterly results late Tuesday that topped forecasts as its revenues hit $5 billion for the first time. The company also was benefiting from Monday's announcement by S&P Dow Jones Indices that it would be among a trio of companies to be included in the Dow, effective Monday.

The rally for equities comes ahead of a potentially market-moving speech from Powell, who will deliver a webcast address to the annual Jackson Hole gathering of central banks Thursday morning. He's expected to outline changes to the Fed's policy framework that would allow inflation to run hotter than in the past, ending the Fed practice of hiking interest rates at the first whiff of rising price pressures.

However, it is too soon to know what additional steps the Federal Reserve can take to help the economy continue to recover from the sudden lock down in March and April,said Kansas City Fed President Esther Georgeon Wednesday.

Investors may also be looking for clues to the potential for additional action by the Fed in terms of monetary stimulus, particularly if the White House and congressional Democrats remain deadlocked on a new pandemic aid package, said Charalambos Pissouros, senior market analyst at JFD Group.

A falling trend in the number of new infections in the U.S. and optimism over prospects for a vaccine and other treatments have been credited with pushing stocks to new highs, but analysts said equities might struggle to extend the rise without fresh impetus. Some fear that investors are nearing a 「euphoria」 stagethat could herald a near-term pullback.

What stocks to watch

• $Autodesk Inc(ADSK.US)$ shares declined 1.6%, despite earnings and revenue that beat estimates.

• Shares of $Intuit Inc(INTU.US)$ rose 1.8% after the maker of tax, accounting and small-business software said delayed tax-filing deadlineshelped it top forecasts for its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue.

• $Dick's Sporting Goods Inc(DKS.US)$ shares rocketed nearly 16% after the retailer reported a 194% e-commerce sales surge in Q2 and said Q3 is off to a good start.

• $Apple Inc(AAPL.US)$ shares rose 1.4% after a price target increase to $600, the highest among Wall Street analysts and a nearly 20% gain from current trading levels.

• Shares of $Tesla, Inc.(TSLA.US)$ pushed past the $2,150 mark, up 6.4%, after a price target upgrade, to $2,500.

• $Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company(HPE.US)$ shares rose 3.6% one day after reporting earnings that beat expectations.

• Shares of $Moderna Inc(MRNA.US)$ gained 6.4% on Wednesday after a company executive told a government advisory committeethat its experimental vaccine had triggered antibodies in elderly patients.

• Shares of $Netflix Inc(NFLX.US)$ rose 11.6% higher, near its highest level since July 10 and on track for its best one-day percentage gain since January of 2019.

• $Amazon.Com Inc(AMZN.US)$ shares climbed 2.9% end near the top of the Nasdaq-100.