The Nasdaq Composite closed above 20,000 for the first time ever as market participants expect the Federal Reserve to issue another interest rate cut next week following November's consumer inflation report. The tech-heavy index rode 1.8%, while the S&P 500 Index added over 0.8%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 100 points.

Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +0.82% or +49.28 points to 6,084.19

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -0.22% or -99.27 points to 44,148.56

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +1.77% or +347.65 points to 20,034.89

Moving Markets:

Consumer Prices rose at a faster-than-expected pace last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday, as inflationary pressures continue to impact economic outlooks. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3% month-over-month in November and 2.7% annually, with the 12-month clip coming in a 0.1 percentage point higher than October.

Excluding food and energy prices, core CPI rose 3.3% annually and 0.3% over October -- with the year-over-year reading remaining unchanged month-to-month.

Elsewhere, Tesla (TSLA  ) shares rose to an all-time high on Wednesday, closing above $424, as the electric vehicle maker continues to rally following the U.S. presidential election and bullish sentiment towards Elon Musk. The stock has risen over 70% year-to-date.

In the News:

General Motors (GM  ) announced late Tuesday that it will no longer fund its Crusie robotaxi segment, instead investing into its autonomous vehicle technology amid that increasingly competitive robotaxi marker, capital allocation priorities and the time and resources necessary to expand the business as the reasons behind its decision.

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas remains optimistic towards GM's decision, maintaining the firm's Equal Weight rating on the automaker.

"We believe most investors had not given GM credit for any positive value of Cruise and would be largely encouraged that the company is taking clear steps to mitigate ongoing losses at a time when better capitalized players (Waymo (GOOG  ) (GOOGL  ), Tesla) continue to push the L4 autonomous ridesharing/robotaxi market into the next era," Jonas wrote in a Tuesday note. "We reiterate our incrementally more constructive view on GM addressing some of the 'controllables' and take steps to reduce forward earnings volatility."

Eli Lilly (LLY  ) announced Wednesday it will offer single-dose vials of its weight loss drug Zepbound on the telehealth platform Ro. The drug's previously sole direct-to-consumer access was through the drugmaker's website, LillyDirect, for $399 per month without insurance. Many patients need to gradually increase their dosage to 5 milligrams over time, which costs $549 per month, before insurance coverage.

Broadcom (AVGO  ) shares rose Wednesday following a report from The Information that the chipmaker is helping Apple (AAPL  ) create an artificial intelligence chip. The news comes as Apple releases its iOS 18.2 update, which integrates OpenAI's ChatGPT with Siri on iPhone, iPad and Mac software -- a critical milestone for the tech giant.

On the Earnings Front:

Macy's (M  ) shares came under pressure Wednesday after the legacy department store cut its earnings guidances and raised its revenue outlook for the full year. The retailer now expects earnings between $2.25 and $2.50 per share, down from its prior guidance of $2.55 and $2.90 per share. Macy's also anticipates full year revenue between $22.3 billion and $22.5 billion, compared to its previous range of $22.1 billion and $22.4 billion.

Separately, Macy's said it has concluded its investigation into an employee who intentionally hid roughly $151 million of delivery expenses on its accounting books for nearly three years, causing the company to delay its most recent earnings report and has revised those years of its historical financial statements.

"The responsible individual is no longer with the company, following discovery of their actions," CEO Tony Spring told investors during the company's earnings call. "We've also identified and begun to implement additional controls to be a stronger and more disciplined organization so that an action like this could not happen again."

For Thursday:

Market participants will turn their attention towards November's producer price index (PPI) reading on Thursday, alongside earnings reports from companies including Adobe (ADBE  ).