S&P 500 sets new record closing high amid volatile market conditions
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The S&P 500 edged past its previous record closing high on Tuesday, marking a milestone in a holiday-shortened week.
As earnings season comes to a close, attention shifts to upcoming U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes, with geopolitical concerns simmering in the background, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The three major stock indexes wobbled between red and green for much of the session, but all three managed to flip green in the closing minutes.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to release the minutes of its January policy meeting, at which the voting members elected to let interest rates stand amid signs of an inflation rebound and the unknown extent and effects of President Trump's threatened tariffs.
Remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers largely adhered to the same script, with Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller saying they believe economic strength and elevated inflation warrant holding the policy rate steady for the time being.
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly reiterated that a pause in rate cuts is appropriate until more visible progress is made toward bringing inflation down to the Fed's 2% goal.
The minutes will be scrutinized for clues regarding the central bank's path forward, particularly in light of recent data, which shows price growth gaining momentum, falling consumer sentiment and weaker-than-expected retail sales.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.26 points, or 0.02%, to 44,556.34, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 14.95 points, or 0.24%, to 6,129.58 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) gained 14.49 points, or 0.07%, to 20,041.26.
Fourth-quarter earnings season has come around the final bend, with 383 companies in the S&P 500 having reported as of Friday. Of those, 74% have posted better-than-expected results, according to LSEG data.
Analysts currently see fourth-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 15.3% year-on-year, up from the 9.6% estimate as it stood on Jan. 1.
Intel (INTC.O) jumped 16.1% after a report over the weekend said rivals Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (2330.TW) and Broadcom (AVGO.O) were considering potential deals that could split the chipmaker in two.
The move gave a boost to the Philadelphia SE semiconductor index (.SOX) which gained 1.7%.
Constellation Brands (STZ.N) jumped 4.0% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) disclosed a new investment in the company on Friday.
Meta Platforms (META.O) slid 2.8%, snapping its 20-session winning streak.
Meta Platforms (META.O) slid 2.8%, snapping its 20-session winning streak.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.53-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 298 new highs and 85 new lows on the NYSE.
On the Nasdaq, 2,289 stocks rose and 2,087 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.1-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 29 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 126 new highs and 113 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 16.36 billion shares, compared with the 15.57 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
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