US stocks trade in tight range following upbeat economic outlook
U.S. stocks posted mixed results in a tight range Wednesday as the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broader market edged up but the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was mostly level.
The Dow rose 79.4 points, or 0.32%, to 25,199.29. The S&P 500 added 6.07 points, or 0.2%, to 2,815.62. The Nasdaq edged less than a point lower to 7,854.44.
In Asian markets, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed down 0.2% and Japan’s Nikkei ended the day up 0.4%.
In European trading, London’s FTSE gained 0.64%, Germany’s DAX was up 0.79% and France’s CAC gained 0.57%.
Powell told Congress on Tuesday that strong economic growth and stable inflation should keep the central bank on track to gradually raise short-term interest rates. He added he wants inflation to stay around 2% and that the economy is "just shy" of hitting that point. Powell is back on Capitol Hill Wednesday for a second day of testimony on the Federal Reserve's semiannual monetary policy report this time before the House.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 43909.02 | +500.55 | +1.15% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5952.22 | +35.11 | +0.59% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 18993.091036 | +26.95 | +0.14% |
On Tuesday, the Nasdaq Composite resumed its climb on Tuesday, hitting a fresh record after a brief hammering. As large cap tech turned the corner so did the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which both recouped earlier losses.
Netflix remained lower but off the worst levels of the session after the streaming giant's quarterly subscribers fell short of estimates.
Investors did engage in some profit taking after Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth both exceeded analysts’ expectations on profit and revenue targets for the quarter.