S&P 500 ends Wednesday little changed as record high remains in reach
The S&P 500 ended the session near the flatline on Wednesday as investors watched to see if the benchmark index could return to its all-time high.
The broad market index was little changed, ending the session at 6,092.16, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.31% to close at 19,973.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 106.59 points, or 0.25%, settling at 42,982.43.
Shares of artificial intelligence darling Nvidia added 4.3% after hitting a record high. Google-parent company Alphabet and chipmaker AMD gained 2.3% and 3.6%.
The S&P 500 was less than 1% below 6,147.43, the intraday record set on Feb. 19. It was also within reach of its closing all-time high of 6,144.15. On top of that, the Nasdaq was just over 1% off its peak reached in December.
Week to date, the S&P 500 is up more than 2% after a tamer-than-expected Iranian response to U.S. attacks over the weekend. The following ceasefire — announced by President Donald Trump — also boosted equities, as investors breathed a sigh of relief that the conflict wouldn’t disrupt global crude supply.
Wall Street’s move toward record levels comes as trade tensions have eased and a ceasefire in the Middle East between Iran and Israel seems to be holding up. The truce went into effect on shaky footing on Tuesday, with both Israel and Iran accusing the other of violating the ceasefire just hours after it was announced.
Source : CNBC
