S&P 500 rises to another fresh record as earnings optimism powers rally

• The S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged higher on Wednesday amid strong optimism for corporate earnings.
• The Dow fell nearly 100 points, but the S&P 500 was able to notch its fourth straight record close.

The S&P 500 inched higher to close at a new record high Wednesday amid strong optimism for corporate earnings, especially from Big Tech.

Netflix shares jumped 12% after the streaming giant reported stellar fourth-quarter results. The company added 13 million new subscribers in the last three-month period alone, bringing its total subscriber count to an all-time-high of 260 million.

Investors are now waiting on earnings results from Tesla and IBM, which are set to report after the closing bell. Markets are also waiting on fresh GDP data and PCE inflation, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, to roll out later this week week, which could influence the pace of Fed rate cuts this year. The central bank will meet for its next policy meeting on January 30.

Markets have slightly pared back hopes for swift monetary easing, but are still pricing in lower interest rates by the end of the year. Investors see a 45% chance rates will end up lower than 4% by December 2024, implying at least 150 basis points of cuts, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 4,868.58, up 0.08%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 37,806.85, down 0.26% (-98.60 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 15,481.92, up 0.36%

Here's what else happened today:

• The Fed could be poised to start slashing interest rates in March, according to this key indicator.
• Warren Buffett bought out a truck-stop business that pulls an even bigger revenue than Nike, Coke, or Netflix.
• There are three reasons why the stock market will broaden its rally in 2024, according to the forecaster who nailed his 2023 stock market outlook.
• The rally in stocks is making Americans happier. But stocks are bad at predicting the future of the economy, Nobel economist Paul Krugman said.
• Here's why more old people owning stocks could exacerbate an economic downturn.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.3% to $75.38 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, ticked higher 1% to $80.34 a barrel.
• Gold ticked lower t0 $2,013 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield rose three basis points to 4.18%.
• Bitcoin rose 1.49% to $39,810.