Big Tech Stocks Help S&P 500 Drift Upward

Bond auction pulled Treasury yields lower
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 13, 2021 4:10 PM CST
Big Tech Stocks Help S&P 500 Drift Upward
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, traders Thomas Lee, left, and Gregory Rowe, right, work on the floor, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021.   (Nicole Pereira/New York Stock Exchange via AP)

Stocks notched modest gains Wednesday following another choppy day of trading on Wall Street, leaving the market near its recent record highs. The S&P 500 inched up 0.2% after flipping between small gains and losses in the early going. Gains in several Big Tech companies, including Intel, Apple, and Amazon, helped nudge the S&P 500 higher, even though most of the stocks in the index fell, the AP reports. Those gains outweighed losses in industrial, materials, and other sectors. The S&P 500 rose 8.65 points to 3,809.84. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.22 points, or less than 0.1%, to 31,060.47. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 56.52 points, or 0.4%, to 13,128.95.

Treasury yields stalled after rising sharply since the beginning of the year. The benchmark 10-year yield dipped as concerns calmed that the Federal Reserve may curtail its purchases of Treasurys. Expectations of higher government spending and the possibility of inflation have helped drive bond yields higher. "There’s a tug of war in the market right now as to whether or not inflation will remain muted," says Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. "The market does not want to see inflation climb at a pace that forces the Fed’s hand." A bond auction Wednesday that drew strong demand also helped pull Treasury yields lower, Krosby said.

(More stock market stories.)

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