Stock market today: live updates

Traders work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on February 29, 2024.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

The S&P 500 rose on Wednesday to close at a record high, putting the index on track for its best first quarter since 2019.

The broader market index rose 0.86% to close at 5,248.49 points; the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 477.75 points, or 1.22%, to close at 39,760.08 points. The two major indexes ended three consecutive days of losses. The Nasdaq rose 0.51% to close at 16,399.52 points.

Stocks were broadly higher on Wednesday, with all 11 sectors of the S&P 500 recording gains. Utilities stocks led the index higher, rising nearly 2.8%. Real estate followed, rising 2.4%, and industrials rose 1.6%.

“Look at the S&P 500: leadership comes from the losers,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. “So this does feel like a late-quarter rebalancing and there’s definitely going to be more enthusiasm for stocks. , otherwise this will be a quiet week, if not at the end of the quarter.”

The major stock indexes are expected to end the first quarter of 2024 with strong performance. The S&P 500 is expected to rise 10%, on track for its best first-quarter gain since 2019, when it rose 13.1%. The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 5.5%, on track for its best first-quarter gain since 2021 (when it was up 7.4%). The Nasdaq is up about 9.3% this quarter.

March is also proving to be strong, with the three major stock indexes on pace for their fifth straight month of gains. As of Wednesday’s close, the S&P 500 was up about 3%. The Nasdaq and Dow Jones are both up about 1.9% so far this month.

“A soft landing for the U.S. economy is now widely expected, and markets have scaled back interest rate cut expectations,” UBS Wealth Management strategists wrote in a note.

“Looking ahead to Q2, we see the next phase of two major market drivers at play: the start of a rate-cutting cycle by major central banks, and the adoption and implementation of artificial intelligence across companies more broadly,” they added.

Later in the week, investors will focus on jobless claims, gross domestic product and consumer confidence data. While markets are closed on Good Friday, attention will be on economic data related to personal income, consumer spending and expected personal consumption expenditures in the morning.