US Stock Market Today: The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit record highs on Wednesday, Aug. 13, underpinned by gains in megacap companies as investors were increasingly confident that the US Federal Reserve could restart its monetary policy easing cycle next month.
Signs that US tariffs on imports have not fully filtered into the headline consumer prices came as a relief for investors this week as they look for more insights on the impact trade uncertainty has had on the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average last rose 379.32 points, or 0.86%, to 44,839.44, the S&P 500 gained 28.17 points, or 0.44%, to 6,474.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 84.32 points, or 0.39%, to 21,766.23.
The blue-chip Dow was less than 1% away from an all-time high and the Russell 2000 index which tracks rate-sensitive small-cap companies, added 0.8% to hit a six-month high. The CBOE volatility index popularly referred to as Wall Street’s fear gauge, dropped to 14.46 – its lowest since January.
