S&P 500 surges, flirts with record close as investor optimism persists
- US stocks rose Wednesday amid investor optimism around further economic stimulus and the prospect of a coronavirus vaccine.
- The benchmark S&P 500 closed less than 0.2% from a record. It last reached an all-time high on Feb. 19, prior to the coronavirus crash.
- Shares of Moderna spiked after President Trump announced the US government will by 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine.
- Tesla shares gained after the company announced a five-for-one stock split.
- Oil prices climbed after a report said that American crude stockpiles shrank last week.
- Read more on Business Insider.
US stocks rose on Wednesday amid investor optimism around further economic stimulus and the prospect of a coronavirus vaccine.
The S&P 500 closed less than 0.2% from a record. It last reached an all-time high on Feb. 19, prior to the coronavirus crash. The benchmark index was on pace for the record at one point, rising as much as 1.6% at intraday highs. It's rallied more than 50% from a multiyear low reached in late March.
Shares of Moderna spiked as much as 10% after President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US government will buy 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate as a part of its Operation Warp Speed program. The drug developer's vaccine is in late-stage human trials.
Meanwhile, Tesla jumped as much as 15% after the company announced Tuesday it will enact a five-for-one stock split on its shares, making it more affordable for investors.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET market close on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 3,380.35, up 1.4%
- Dow Jones industrial average: 27,976.84, up 1.1% (290 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 11,012.24, up 2.1%
Technology giants such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google parent Alphabet, and Microsoft led the market higher, recovering from a slump a day earlier.
Investors also continued to watch for signs of progress in lawmakers' negotiations on the next coronavirus stimulus relief package. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the White House is open to further discussions with Democrats, but on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said talks had reached a stalemate.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that Democrats and the Trump administration remain "miles apart" on a deal and have not met this week. Still, investors expect a deal will eventually be reached.
On the economic-data front, US consumer prices increased in July by o.6%, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. That exceeded the 0.3% increase that economists expected. Gold rebounded Wednesday after falling the most in 7 years on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, the UK officially fell into a recession for the first time in 11 years after its gross domestic output slumped 20.4% between April and June due to shutdowns to contain COVID-19.
Oil climbed after a report said that American crude stockpiles shrank last week. West Texas Intermediate crude gained as much as 3.1%, to $42.90 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 2.5%, to $45.63 per barrel, at intraday highs.