(RTTNews) – Stocks gave back ground after an early advance on Wednesday but moved back to the upside late in the session to end the day mostly higher. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 regained ground following the pullback seen over the two previous sessions, although the narrower Dow saw further downside.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 218.10 points or 1.0 percent to 21,497.73 and the S&P 500 climbed 32.72 points or 0.5 percent to 6,448.26. The Dow, on the other hand, posted a modest loss, edging down 24.58 points or 0.1 percent to 45,271.23.
The notable rebound by the Nasdaq came amid a surge by shares of Alphabet (GOOGL), with the Google parent spiking by 9.1 percent.
Alphabet rallied after a federal judge ruled the company will avoid the most severe consequences in a landmark antitrust case.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Google will not be required to divest its Chrome browser nor a contingent divestiture of the Android operating system.
“Plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced divestiture of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints,” Mehta said.
Shares of Apple (AAPL) also jumped by 3.8 percent, as the decision allows the tech giant to continue to preload Google Search onto its iPhones.
The strength on Wall Street also came after the Labor Department released a report showing job openings in the U.S. fell to their lowest level in ten months in July.
While the data provides further signs of softening labor market conditions, the report has also increased confidence the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates later this month.
Sector News
Despite the strength seen in the broader markets, most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.
Gold stocks moved notably higher, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index climbing by 1.8 percent as the price of the precious metal reached another new record high.
On the other hand, a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil weighed on energy stocks, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index down by 2.7 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.9 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent and the German DAX Index rose by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries saw a notable rebound following the slump seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, tumbled by 6.6 basis points to 4.211 percent.
Looking Ahead
Trading on Thursday may be impacted by reaction to a slew of U.S. economic data, including reports on weekly jobless claims, service sector activity and the U.S. trade deficit.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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