Stocks ended Wednesday's session mixed, with the Dow Jones rising to another record close while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped lower. The S&P 500 had pared losses in late afternoon after the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting in January signalled that the central bank's easy monetary policy will continue as the economy is nowhere near pre-pandemic levels.

Retail sales for January soared much higher-than-expected following December's decline, according to the Commerce Department. Retail sales rose 5.3% in January, well above the 1.1% rise expected, after the 1.0% drop in December, making the fastest growth rate since June 2020. Overall, retail sales were 7.4% higher than January 2020.

Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -0.03% or -1.22 points to 3,931.37

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.29% or +90.53 points to 31,613.28

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -0.58% or -82.00 points to 13,965.50

For Stocks, Verizon (VZ  ) and Chevron (CVX  ) rose higher on Wednesday after U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings revealed that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A  ) took a respective $8.6 billion and $4.1 billion stake in the companies. Vir Biotechnology (VIR  ) popped over 18% after the company announced that its coronavirus antibody partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK  ) will expand to research therapies for other diseases.

For Sector Performance, sectors on the S&P 500 were mostly higher on Wednesday, with only Information Technology (XLK  ), Industrials (XLI  ) and Materials (XLB  ) falling into negative territory. Energy (XLE  ) was the lead gainer, jumping over 1%.

For Commodities and Currencies, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) rose on Wednesday on positive economic data and signs of strengthening inflation. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against other global currencies, was up 0.25% higher at 90.933. Bitcoin reached a record higher of $52,338.85 on Wednesday, after topping $50,000 on Tuesday. Gold (GLD  ) extended its multi-session decline on Wednesday on the strengthening dollar and rising U.S. Treasury yields. Spot gold was down 1.18% at $1,773.18 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures settled 1.46% lower at $1,771.00 per ounce. Crude oil futures continued their rally on Wednesday as major supply disruption following the winter storm in Texas kept natural gas prices higher. International benchmark Brent Crude (BNO  ) rose 1.56% at $64.34 per barrel, while domestic index West Texas Intermediate (USO  ) settled 1.82% higher at $62.24 each.

For Thursday, market participants will focus on fresh weekly unemployment claims data, as well as more corporate earnings from companies like Walmart (WMT  ).