Aug. 25 (UPI) — The S&P 500 briefly crossed the 4,500-point threshold for the first time on Wednesday as markets continued their winning streak.
The broad index closed the day up 0.22% at 4,496.19 points, just shy of the milestone, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.15%. Both indexes posted gains for the fifth consecutive day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 39.24 points, or 0.11%.
The 10-year treasury yield climbed to 1.347%, rising to its highest level since earlier this month when it reached 1.364%.
Bank stocks posted gains in response to the rise with JPMorgan Chase increasing 2.06% and Wells Fargo climbing 1.92%.
Travel stocks also continued their rally on the heels of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine receiving full federal approval Monday as Delta Air Lines stock gained 1.9% and American Airlines rose 1.61% while Royal Caribbean rose 0.66% and Carnival climbed 1.13%.
Best Buy stock rose 0.33% and Dick’s Sporting Goods climbed 13.3% to an all-time high after both companies reported their second-quarter earnings.
So-called “meme stocks” favored by traders in online communities such as Reddit gave up some gains with GameStop stock falling 5.06% and AMC dipping 0.68% after surging on Tuesday.
Markets also responded to House Democrats voting Tuesday to advance a $3.5 trillion budget plan that has been tied to a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.
“That stimulus … is going to be put into the economy over the nest 8 to 10 years. So that’s a huge tailwind for our markets, with that continued spending to increase,” Loreen Gilbert, Wealthwise Financial CEO, told Yahoo Finance. “And so when investors ask me that question [of ‘where do we go from here’], I say, look to the stimulus, and don’t fight that stimulus, just like we say don’t fight the Fed.”
Federal Reserve Jerome Powell will deliver remarks on Thursday during the central bank’s symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., which begins Thursday, where investors are awaiting the Fed’s plans on how it will wind down its bond-purchasing.
