U.S. equities closed higher on Wednesday as buying pressure in Consumer Services, Technology and Telecoms helped lift the major indexes. At the New York close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.49%, the S&P 500 increased 0.78% and the NASDAQ Composite rose 1.29%.
On the Dow, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) was the session's strongest performer, advancing 3.84% - a gain of 8.01 points - to finish at 216.74. Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) added 2.42%, or 1.91 points, to end at 80.87, while International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) rose 1.91%, or 4.70 points, to close at 249.98.
Not all blue-chips participated in the uptick. The weakest Dow names included Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), which fell 1.59% or 1.26 points to 78.08 at the close. Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) slipped 1.53%, a drop of 2.99 points to 193.06, and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) lost 1.46% or 2.76 points to finish at 186.01.
On the S&P 500, Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) led gains with a sizable 16.07% increase to 57.84. Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) rose 8.21% to settle at 134.83, and Ross Stores Inc (NASDAQ:ROST) climbed 7.99% to close at 213.43.
Conversely, the S&P's laggards included Brown Forman (NYSE:BFb), down 6.65% to 26.26 in late trading, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL), which lost 4.68% to settle at 287.21, and Rockwell Automation Inc (NYSE:ROK), which fell 3.80% to 383.35 at the close.
The NASDAQ Composite's top performers were led by several smaller-cap and thinly traded issues. Actelis Networks Inc (NASDAQ:ASNS) surged 186.56% to 0.54, Decent Holding Inc (NASDAQ:DXST) climbed 152.34% to 0.20, and Firefly Neuroscience Inc (NASDAQ:AIFF) jumped 126.28% to close at 1.55.
At the other end of the NASDAQ, Tian Ruixiang Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:TIRX) tumbled 48.47% to 0.03 in late trade, STAK Inc (NASDAQ:STAK) dropped 41.82% to 0.62, and Turbo Energy SA ADR (NASDAQ:TURB) slid 41.67% to 1.68 at the close.
Breadth on the exchanges favored advancers. On the New York Stock Exchange, rising issues outnumbered decliners by 1,732 to 996, with 97 unchanged. On the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2,287 stocks advanced while 1,117 declined and 165 finished unchanged.
Several individual stock milestones were noted. Moderna's shares rose to 52-week highs, gaining 16.07% or 8.01 to 57.84. Ross Stores reached an all-time high, up 7.99% or 15.79 to 213.43. Tian Ruixiang Holdings Ltd fell to an all-time low, slipping 48.47% or 0.03 to 0.03.
Volatility and commodities markets moved alongside stocks. The CBOE Volatility Index - which gauges implied volatility for S&P 500 options - declined 10.14% to 21.18. In commodity trading, Gold Futures for April delivery rose 0.52% or 26.69 to 5,150.39 a troy ounce. Crude oil for April delivery increased 1.81% or 1.35 to $75.91 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract advanced 1.28% or 1.04 to $82.44 a barrel.
In foreign exchange trading, EUR/USD was unchanged 0.24% at 1.16, while USD/JPY fell 0.39% to 157.06. The US Dollar Index Futures declined 0.28% to 98.73.
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Market wrap - Major U.S. indexes closed higher with technology, consumer services and telecoms contributing to the advance. Broad participation on both the NYSE and Nasdaq was reflected in rising issues outnumbering falling ones on both exchanges.