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 (NYSE: SPY): +0.47% or +15.82 points to 3,386.11
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.40% or +115.63 points to 29,347.82
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.87% or +84.44 points to 9,817.18
In Major Stock News, Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) continues to spike to new record highs, with the stock passing Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) as the most popular stock among retail investors, according to Fidelity. Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN) shares dropped more than 17% after the meal kit service reported underperforming quarterly earning and it considers changing its business strategy. Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) also plunged over 44% after the company announced that it will stop selling merchandise by the years end.
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 (NYSE: USO) declining -0.13% and Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) soaring almost +3%. Gold (NYSE: GLD) also ended the day with gains, with the metal's ounce price increasing +0.06%. Finally, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) continues to gain in its current global climate, with the DXY Index increasing +0.14%.