U.S. stocks ended mostly higher on Wednesday, extending their gains for the year as investors waited for the next batch of economic data after a solid start to the week following positive news on a U.S.-China trade truce. However, the Dow ended in negative territory for the second-straight session.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.2% or 89.37 points, to close at 42,051.06 points.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% or 6.03 points to end at 5,892.58 points, adding to its year-to-date gain marginally and closing in the green for the sixth straight session. Consumer discretionary and tech stocks were the biggest gainers.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) gained 0.4%, while the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) jumped 0.7%. The Healthcare Select Sector SPDR (XLV) fell 2.4%, suffering for the second straight day. Eight of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up 0.7% or 136.72 points, to finish at 19,146.81 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 2.20% to 18.62. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.97-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.74-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 19.73 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, higher than the last 20-session average of 16.77 billion.
Investors Wait for More Trade Deals
Stocks swung between gains and losses for most of the session on Wednesday as investors waited for more news on trade deals with other countries. Washington has been negotiating with several countries and more trade deals are expected to be announced in the coming days.
Wednesday’s moves came after a solid start to the week as the United States and China reached a trade truce wherein both nations decided to temporarily halt tariffs for 90 days.
Also, fresh inflation data released on Monday suggested that inflation cooled in April and is on track to reach the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. These have somewhat alleviated fears of the economy slipping into a recession.
Investors held on to the positive sentiment on Wednesday, with stocks finishing mostly higher.
Trump's Middle East Visit in Focus
Investors also watched for more trade developments as President Donald Trump started his tour of the Gulf states. Trump secured a $600 billion in commitment from Saudi Arabia, his first destination in the Middle East.
Shares of chip companies rallied on Wednesday, led by NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) on news that it will send 18,000 of its top artificial intelligence chips to Saudi Arabia. Shares of NVIDIA rose 4.2%. Also, shares of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) rose 4.7% after the company announced a $6 billion share buyback program. Advanced Micro Devices carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
No major economic data was released on Wednesday.
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