Stocks rode through Wednesday's closing bell with moderate gains, buoyed by the release of minutes showing the Fed bullish on a possible rate hike in June.
The Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq each added 0.4%. The S&P 500 rose more than 0.2% and made a new closing high. Preliminary data showed volume was higher on the NYSE and lower on the Nasdaq than at the end of trade Tuesday.
Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's May 2-3 meeting showed the Fed remained supportive of an increase in the key interest rate at its June meeting, which would mark the second rate hike this year and the third since December. The minutes also showed the committee considering to begin winding down the Fed's $4.5 trillion stockpile of bond holdings amassed in its monetary stimulus, but probably not until later in the year — a reprieve for those who had begun expecting some action as early as September.
Investors liked what they heard, sending the S&P 500, the Dow and the Nasdaq sharply higher just after the release. That left the S&P 500 a breath below its prior high of 2405 set May 16. The Nasdaq and the Dow also held below their prior peaks.
Goldman Leads Dow; Triumph Rockets; Tiffany's, Dycom Burned
Goldman Sachs (GS) surged 2% to lead the Dow industrials. General Electric (GE) dropped 1.6% after Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said the company would need to cut deeper into costs to meet targets in its ambitious restructuring. Goldman Sachs rose close to its 10-week moving average. GE's loss snuffed a four-day bounce from a 52-week low.
Financial software brand Intuit (INTU) easily topped the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, up 7% after strong fiscal third-quarter results late Tuesday. The gap-up left shares extended above buy points of 127.74 and 128.55.
Clinching the No. 2 and No. 3 slots on the S&P 500 were utilities NRG (NRG) and AES (AES), up 5.5% and 3%, respectively. Rallying utilities sometimes signal a defensive shift among institutional investors.
Jewelers took some of the day's hardest hits. Tiffany (TIF) suffered a 9% drop after delivering mixed first-quarter results. Signet Jewelers (SIG), scheduled to report first-quarter results before Thursday's open, tanked 7%.
Aircraft components maker Triumph Group (TGI) spiked 30.5% after a big fiscal fourth-quarter earnings beat, although full-year revenue guidance was below the consensus view. The gain hoisted shares back above the stock's 10- and 40-week moving averages, ending 62% above an early-May low.
Among IBD 50 stock's, Stamps.com (STMP) rallied 5% to close within 3% of a 136.10 buy point in a cup base. Dave & Buster's (PLAY) jumped nearly 3%, ending just below a 67.93 buy point in a three-weeks-tight pattern.
Dycom (DY) was the day's distress story, unraveling nearly 18% on weak current-quarter guidance.
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