U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday, with all three major indexes closing at record highs, following earnings results from a batch of big tech companies. Investors also eagerly looked forward to the all-important jobs report scheduled for Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.7% or 308.51 points, to end at 45,014.04 points and closing at a record high.
The S&P 500 jumped 0.6% or 36.61 points, to close at 6,086.49 points, reaching fresh record closing high. Consumer discretionary and tech stocks were the biggest gainers.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) rose 0.9%, while the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) climbed 1.8%. Six of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 1.3% or 254.21 points to finish at 19,735.12 points, hitting a new all-time closing high.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 1.13% to 13.45. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.2-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.23-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues. A total of 13.06 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 14.89 billion.
The Dow rebounded on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq extended their gains from the earlier session as investors' confidence got a boost on robust quarterly revenues from Salesforce, Inc. (CRM).
Salesforce posted third-quarter 2024 revenues of $9.44 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.33 billion. Shares of Salesforce ended 11% higher, following the announcement. Salesforce has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Also, shares of Marvell Technology, Inc. (MRVL) surged 23.2% after the company reported earnings results. Marvell Technology reported third-quarter 2024 earnings of $0.43 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.40 per share.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments gave a further boost to the bullish sentiment in the market. Powell said that the economy is stronger than it appeared when the central bank announced the first rate cut in September, which will allow policymakers to be a shade more cautious when cutting rates further in the future.
Also, according to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which compiles surveys and interviews nationwide, U.S. economic activity has seen marginal growth in most areas since early October.
Investors are now waiting for the all-important jobs data due Friday, which will give them a clearer picture of the Fed’s future rate cut path.
In economic data released on Wednesday, Automatic Data Processing, Inc.’s (ADP) National Employment Report showed that private payrolls increased by 146,000 in November, lower than the downwardly revised 184,000 in October and less than the consensus estimate of a rise of 163,000.
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management survey showed that Services PMI fell to 52.1 in November after jumping to 56 in October, which was the highest reading since August 2022.
The Commerce Department reported that U.S. factory orders increased 0.2% in October after declining 0.2% in September. Year over year, factory orders rose 0.4%.
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