Wall Street’s S&P500, Nasdaq Composite Climb to Fresh Records

*OspreyFX would like to state that traders should research extensively before following any information given hereby. Any assumptions made in this article are provided solely for entertainment purposes and not for traders to guide or alter their positions. Please read our Terms & Conditions and Risk Disclosure for more information.

Key Takeaways

• Stocks on Wall Street advanced on Tuesday, while futures are little changed today
• The S&P500 and the Nasdaq Composite notched new all-time highs

Wall Street Stocks on the Rise

The S&P500 and the Nasdaq Composite eked out new closing records amid sustained optimism that the economic recovery remained robust. Most sectors of the S&P500 were in the green yesterday as economically-sensitive stocks led the move higher.

Bank stocks, oil and gas companies, and shares in the travel and leisure sector advanced the most, helping buoy the rally in the major indexes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Tuesday’s session higher by 30.55 points, or 0.09%, to 35,366.26. The S&P500 advanced 6.70 points, or 0.15%, to 4,486.23. The broad stock index notched its 50^th record close of 2021, bringing its year-to-date gains to over 21%.

The Nasdaq Composite added 77.15 points, or 0.52%, to 15,019.80. The tech-centered index settled above 15,000 for the first time in its history.

Tuesday was also a strong day for the so-called meme stocks. Indeed, individual stocks are favored by the retail trading community. One of the companies most closely associated with retail traders, GameStop, surged 28%. The latter finished the day above $200 per share, a level unseen in almost two months.

The video game retailer rallied more than 36% on the day to a session high of $225 apiece and closed trading at $210.29.

Shares of AMC Entertainment, another favorite among retail investors, jumped over 20% as it became one of the most traded stocks of the day. Other meme stocks, including Clover Health, Bet Bath & Beyond, and BlackBerry, rose between 4% and 10%.

Bitcoin Pushes Higher Early in the Day

The market mood has been elevated this week by the full approval from US regulators for the Covid-19 vaccine by Pfizer and BioNTech. The US government, institutions, and market participants now expect vaccine hesitancy to drop while more unvaccinated people choose to get their jabs. The full approval of the vaccine is expected to see people returning to offices and pushing social and business activity higher.

While US futures on Wednesday hover virtually flat, European markets today experience a quiet mode of trading. The pan-continental Stoxx 600 is gravitating toward unchanged levels near 472 points. Major European bourses are also subdued in the early hours of the session.

Markets across Europe yesterday finished mixed with the region-wide Stoxx 600 sliding less than 1 point. The UK’s FTSE100 and the German DAX ended in positive territory on Tuesday, while the French CAC40 slipped into minor losses.

Investors continue to build expectations over the upcoming Federal Reserve annual conference. The Jackson Hole symposium, slated for Thursday through Saturday, will be carefully monitored for insights into the pace at which the US central bank would unwind its monetary stimulus.

The usual time at which the Federal Reserve would most likely discuss tapering is at its regular policy meetings. Traders and investors, however, hope they would hear more details over the matter from the Fed’s chair Jerome Powell who will speak at the summit on Friday.

Otherwise, the Federal Reserve is set to meet for its regular meetings on Sept. 21-22, Nov. 2-3, and Dec. 14-15.

In cryptocurrency action today, bitcoin is steadily pushing higher in the early hours of today’s trading. The leading digital token is up about 2% from today’s low of $47,500 and is currently changing hands at $48,500 per coin.