S&P 500 Rises as Alphabet and Tech Stocks Lift Wall Street; Dow Edges Lower
S&P climbs 0.5% to 6,448.26 as bond yields ease after a softer U.S. jobs update; Nasdaq gains 1%
U.S. stocks steadied Wednesday as gains in Alphabet and other technology companies helped the S&P 500 snap a two-day losing streak while bond yields retreated after a softer-than-expected update on the U.S. job market.
The S&P 500 rose 32.72 points, or 0.5%, to 6,448.26. The Nasdaq composite climbed 218.10 points, or 1%, to 21,497.73. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 24.58 points, or 0.1%, to 45,271.23. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 2.24 points, or 0.1%, to 2,349.97.
Alphabet was among the strongest influences on the market after developments in its antitrust case avoided some of the worst-case scenarios investors had feared, supporting broader gains in technology shares. The strengthening in tech came alongside easing Treasury yields after the latest labor-market update showed less momentum than expected, relieving some of the upward pressure on yields that built earlier in the week.
For the week through Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down about 12 points, or 0.2%, while the Dow was down roughly 273.65 points, or 0.6%.
Traders have been weighing a mix of corporate results, court and regulatory news and economic data as they assess the outlook for interest rates and profit growth. Rising yields globally had pressured stocks a day earlier, and the pullback in yields Wednesday helped limit losses and support riskier, growth-oriented names.
Smaller-company stocks lagged larger-cap indexes, with the Russell 2000 slipping modestly, reflecting ongoing investor caution around economic growth and the interest-rate outlook. Market participants said upcoming economic reports and continued corporate earnings announcements will remain focal points as investors parse the balance between growth prospects and central bank policy.
The market's direction in the near term will likely depend on further readings on employment, inflation and corporate profit trends, which influence expectations for Federal Reserve policy and the path of interest rates. For now, Wednesday's combination of eased yields and selective legal developments provided a stabilizing backdrop for equity markets.