Stocks rose Wednesday, with the S&P 500 Index closing for the first time above 5,300, as investor sentiment was boosted by a lighter-than-expected inflation report. The broader market index rose about 1.2% by the end of the session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed about 350 points higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.4%.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +1.17% or +61.47 points to 5,308.15
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.88% or +349.89 points to 39,908.00
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +1.40% or +231.21 points to 16,742.39
Making History:
All three market averages closed at record highs on Wednesday. The S&P 500 has reached 23 record closes so far this year, while the Dow has had 18 and Nasdaq has posted 8.
Moving Markets:
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3% in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday, coming in below expectations as easing price pressures for groceries helped alleviated higher gas prices and housing costs. On a yearly basis, CPI rose 3.4%, down slightly from 3.5% in March.
Excluding food and gas prices, so-called core CPI rose 0.3% month-over-month and 3.6% year-over-year, with both coming in-line with expectations.
Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales were flat in April, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday, coming below economist expectations for a 0.4% increase and marking a slowdown from March's 0.6% monthly rise. Excluding auto and gas sales, retail sales fell 0.1% in April, coming in below expectations for a 0.1% increase.
"The fact that retail sales stalled in April is not necessarily a sign the consumer is spent; but for once at least it does not show continued evidence of an unstoppable consumer," Tim Quinlan, senior economist at Wells Fargo, wrote in a note to clients.
In the News:
Boeing (NYSE: BA) shares came under pressure after the U.S. Department of Justice ruled on Tuesday that the airplane manufacturer violated a 2021 settlement that protected it from criminal charges related to fatal 737 Max crashes. Boeing had previously agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a conspiracy charge with the DOJ.
The federal government said the company broke the agreement by "failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the u.S. fraud laws throughout its operations," the DOJ said.
Netflix's (NASDAQ: NFLX) ad-supported subscription tier has gained a total of 40 million global monthly active users, the streaming giant said Wednesday, nearly doubling the 23 million figure the company disclosed in January.
With the news, Netflix also said it would launch its own advertising platform, ending its partnership with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) for its technology. Microsoft will remain as an advertising partner, however, and will be joined by other ad tech companies like Google Display & Video 360 (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD).
For Thursday:
Market participants will react to earnings reports from companies including Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) and Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU).