The S&P 500 climbed back within 0.5% of its record on Wednesday, lifted by strong bank earnings and cooling wholesale inflation. All three major U.S. indexes finished higher for a second straight session, even as the war with Iran pushed oil prices to a one-month high.
Strong profit reports from BlackRock and other large companies pushed U.S. stocks higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 rising 28.81 points to 7,572.40 — back within 0.5% of its all-time high set early last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 150.37 to 52,658.64, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 162.22 to 26,269.23. It was the second consecutive session of gains for all three.
Banks lead the advance
Financial stocks drove the move after another round of stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings from large banks. BlackRock rose 6.6% after beating profit and revenue forecasts. CEO Laurence Fink said its iShares funds topped $6 trillion in assets under management during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon rose 5.1%, adding to a spate of strong bank reports from a day earlier.
The strength was not uniform. Elevance Health fell 8.5% despite reporting stronger profit and revenue than analysts expected, and technology shares were mixed as weakness in chipmakers weighed on the sector.
Cooling inflation eases rate fears
A fresh report gave the market a lift, showing wholesale inflation slowed to 5.5% from 6% in May — much better than the acceleration economists expected. That took pressure off the Federal Reserve, which is weighing whether to raise rates.
Following the report, traders see just a 10% chance that the Fed lifts its main rate at its next meeting, down from nearly 42% on Monday, according to CME Group. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh gave few clues in testimony before a Senate committee, cautioning that "these are all imperfect measures of the state of underlying inflation".
Upward pressure lingers because of the war with Iran. Brent crude briefly topped $86 in the morning before settling at $84.95 per barrel, up 0.3% from the day before.
Sources: TV News Check (AP), Crypto Briefing
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