U.S. stocks pared Tuesday's lows during trading hours on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting fresh record highs. According to the Federal Reserve's minutes from January's FOMC meeting, officials viewed that current level of monetary policy as "likely to remain appropriate for the time." In addition, the Fed had discussed the ongoing coronavirus in the meeting and concluded: "The treat of the coronavirus, in addition to its human toll, had emerged as a new risk to the global growth outlook, which participants agreed warranted close watching."
Here's how the stock market closed for the midweek:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
In Major Stock News, Virgin Galactic
In Stock Sector News, most sectors saw performance gains Wednesday, with investors seemingly ignoring coronavirus concerns. The sectors that increased include Energy +1.32%, Information Technology +1.09%, Financials +0.74%, Consumer Discretionary +0.47%, Health Care +0.45%, Communication Services +0.37% and Materials +0.20%. The few that decreased include Real Estate -1.36%, Utilities -1.09%, Consumer Staples -0.08% and Industrials -0.05%.
Lastly, in Commodity and Currency News, crude barrel price growth was mixed on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate