S&P 500 rises to new record as Big Tech stocks gain

The S&P 500 rose to a fresh record on Wednesday as investors poured back into trusty mega-cap technology stocks. The S&P 500 advanced 0.3% to a new intraday high after the index ended a seven-day winning streak in the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 40 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% after hitting a fresh record shortly after the open.

With rates falling and Wall Street fretting about a peak in economic growth, investors have rediscovered their old Big Tech favorites. Apple and Amazon are both up more than 10% over the past month, far outpacing the S&P 500′s 2.8% return. Defying many predictions, the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 1.306% on Wednesday. Major technology names like Apple and Google-parent Alphabet rose on Wednesday. Shares of Amazon gained 1% even after the e-commerce giant rallied nearly 5% on Tuesday.

Energy stocks were in the red as oil prices fell. WTI crude touched a 6-year high briefly on Tuesday before retreating. Crude was down again on Wednesday. Occidental Petroleum, APA Corp. and Pioneer Natural Resources all dipped more than 2%.

The Fed’s minutes are expected to be dovish with the central bank looking for progress in the labor market and not worried that recent inflation will become a persistent trend. Slowing down the bond buying would be the Fed’s first major retreat from the easy policies it put in place when the economy shut down last year. The end of the Fed’s $120 billion a month in Treasury and mortgage purchases would also signal that the central bank’s next move could be to raise interest rates.

S&P 500 rises to new record as Big Tech stocks gain, CNBC, Jul 8