More blowout profit reports from big tech companies pushed the S&P 500 to another record high on Wednesday. The benchmark index rose 1%, even though most of the stocks within it fell. Tech stocks accounted for the lion’s share of the gains. The S&P 500 gained 35.11 points to 3,478.73. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 83.48 points, or 0.3%, to 28,331.92. The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, climbed 198.59 points, or 1.7%, to 11,665.06, its third-straight record high , the AP reports. Treasury yields rose ahead of a highly anticipated speech from the Federal Reserve’s chair, Jerome Powell, on Thursday. Powell will be speaking as part of the Fed’s annual economic symposium.
Salesforce.com, which joins the Dow next week, surged 24.2%, making it the biggest gainer in the S&P 500, after giving a profit report for its latest quarter that Wall Street analysts called "stupendous." Other technology stocks were also strong, with Adobe up 7.7%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise gained 3.2% following its own better-than-expected profit report. Tech stocks accounted for more than 80% of the S&P 500's overall gain, outweighing losses in health care, utilities, energy, and other sectors. It continues a longstanding run on Wall Street, where investors continue to pile into companies that can deliver strong growth even if the economy is weak or quarantined.
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