The S&P 500 climbed to a fresh record on Wednesday as stocks remain resilient despite a continuously cautious Federal Reserve and President Donald Trump’s threat of more tariffs.
The S&P 500 rose 0.24%, settling at 6,144.15 and earning its second record close in a row. The index also touched a fresh all-time high during the session. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.07% to close at 20,056.25, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 71.25 points, or 0.16%, to end at 44,627.59.
Shares of Microsoft gained 1.3% and led the broader technology sector higher after the company unveiled its first ever quantum computing chip. Tesla climbed almost 2%. Analog Devices surged nearly 10% after posting better-than-expected quarterly results on the top and bottom lines.
Trump on Tuesday floated the notion of imposing a 25% tariff on imported autos, chips and pharmaceuticals. Trump did not specify whether the potential duties would be targeted or broad, but did say they could be implemented as soon as April 2.
“I think there’s a lot of noise tied to DOGE, Elon Musk and tariffs in the short-term, which is what you’re seeing today. And I think a lot of this stuff will linger,” said Jim Elios, founder and chief investment officer at Elios Financial Group. “It’s the Trump effect with headlines that are weighing on markets and causing some pain. In the long term, I’m still really bullish about how this can become a pro-business environment,” added Elios.
Additionally, investors weighed the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which showed that central bank officials want to see more progress on inflation before cutting interest rates further, and they are also concerned about the effect of Trump’s tariffs.
