Highlights
Major stock indexes managed modest gains on Wednesday for a second straight day with strength in megacaps and lower market interest rates providing support. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.3 percent while the S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq was up 0.6 percent. Bond yields and the dollar declined while oil prices rose.
Bond yields declined for a second consecutive day on better than expected inflation news in the producer prices report after Wednesday’s benign consumer price data. That prompted investors to push back even further expectations for a Federal Reserve anti-inflation rate hike.
Lower bond yields helped boost demand for megacaps including Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft. Among financials, Blackrock reported favorable quarterly results to lead the day’s winners.