The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit all-time highs for the fourth session in a row on Wednesday, boosted by a jump in Amazon.com and Alphabet, and on optimism over trade talks between the United States and Canada.
Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Amazon and Google-parent Alphabet, becoming the most bullish Wall Street brokerage on the so-called FANG members, causing the stocks to rise by 2.3 percent and 1.3 percent.
The technology sector rose 0.92 percent, the most among the 11 major S&P sectors, on gains in Alphabet. Apple hit a record high and was last up 1.0 percent.
The consumer discretionary index was up 0.70 percent, as Amazon`s gains more than offset a drop in retailers. Amazon`s stock hit a record high and moved closer to following Apple into the $1 trillion-market cap club.
Also helping sentiment was Commerce Department data that showed second-quarter U.S. economic growth was a bit stronger than initially thought, notching its best performance in nearly four years as businesses spent more on software and imports fell.
After striking a deal with Mexico on Monday, the United States is in trade talks with Canada to salvage the North American Free Trade Agreement amid signs Ottawa was open to taking a more conciliatory approach.
Also on the trade radar is an upcoming Sept. 5 deadline for public comment on a U.S. proposal to slap tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
"The theme of the day is the trade talk with Canada which is a big step, although the elephant in the room is still China. That`s what has the most weight on concerns with the market moving forward," said Ryan Nauman, market strategist at Informa Financial Intelligence in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.
"There`s definitely room to run in the equity markets with more records being hit, especially with the momentum on trade."
At 11:25 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 70.42 points, or 0.27 percent, at 26,134.44, the S&P 500 was up 14.65 points, or 0.51 percent, at 2,912.17 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 63.17 points, or 0.79 percent, at 8,093.21.
Dick`s Sporting Goods tumbled 5.5 percent as the sportswear retailer`s quarterly same-store sales fell more than expected.
The company blamed tighter controls on gun sales and weak sales of Under Armour products, which pushed shares of the sportswear maker down nearly 1 percent.
In a weak day for retailers, department store chains Macy`s, Kohl`s and Nordstrom fell more than 2 percent while Tiffany`s dropped 4.9 percent.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise was up 3.1 percent after the IT products and services provider topped revenue and profit estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.66-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.61-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 43 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 87 new highs and 13 new lows.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
09:29 PM IST