S&P 500 closes above 5,600 for first time in history


Nasdaq Composite Index Posts 7th Straight Record Close
Dow Jones jumps to highest level in a month and a half

S&P 500 posts sixth straight record close
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index Jumps to All-Time High
S&P 500 earnings expected to rise 10% in Q2
10 billion shares trading volume on US stock exchanges in Wednesday's session


Major U.S. indexes closed with strong collective gains on Wednesday, supported by shares of Nvidia and other big tech companies ahead of inflation data and quarterly earnings reports due this week.
Powell said on the second day of his testimony before Congress that he was not prepared to conclude that inflation was moving sustainably toward 2 percent, although he expressed some confidence in that.
Analysts on average expect S&P 500 earnings to rise 10.1% in the second quarter, compared with an 8.2% increase in the first quarter.

Performance of major US indices:


The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%, or 429 points, on Wednesday, recording its highest close in a month and a half.
The S&P 500 also rose 1% to close above 5,600 points for the first time in its history, recording its sixth consecutive record close.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.2%, recording its seventh consecutive record close.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 2.4% to a new record high after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported strong quarterly revenue.
Trading volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively low, with 10 billion shares changing hands, compared to the average of 11.5 billion shares over the last 20 sessions.

Apple stocks


Apple shares rose 1.9% on Wednesday, extending gains to a seventh straight session and setting a new record close.
The company was able to add $66 billion to its value in one day, becoming the first company in the world to have a market value exceeding $3.55 trillion.
The gains came after Apple announced that it aims to ship at least 90 million iPhone 16 units in the second half of this year, amid its bet on artificial intelligence services to fuel demand.

Illumina Stocks


Illumina shares fell 6% on Wednesday to their highest daily close in two months after the gene-sequencing equipment maker announced its acquisition of Fluent BioSciences.