US stocks closed at new all-time highs following a choppy day of trading on Wednesday as investors shrugged off more economic gloom from the eurozone.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 60.44 (0.40 per cent) to 15,275.69, setting a new record closing high for the second day in a row.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 8.44 (0.51 per cent) at 1658.78, its fourth straight day of record closes, while the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 9.01 (0.26 per cent) to 3471.62.
All three indices rose through the early afternoon, then retreated somewhat before staging a late rally.
Official European Union figures showed the eurozone economy shrank 0.2 per cent between January and March, the sixth consecutive quarterly contraction in the longest recession since the single currency bloc was established in 1999.
On the positive side on this side of the Atlantic, builder confidence in the US market for newly built, single-family homes rose three points to 44, according to a reading on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
Art Hogan of Lazard Capital Markets said the market was reacting to a “steadily improving housing sector” as shown by the NAHB data.
“It’s been the same theme for most of this year,” said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Morgan Securities. “Any pullback in the market is a buying opportunity.”
James said the market was cheered by strong gains in financial equities, such as JPMorgan Chase, which rose 1.7 per cent.
Apple dropped 3.4 per cent following reports that a number of leading hedge funds exited or reduced their holdings in the company in the first quarter. Among those to trim holdings were David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management, which reduced its stake to 540,00 shares from almost 913,000 shares.
Google put on 3.3 per cent after unveiling a music service for smartphones and tablets powered by its Android software. The technology giant’s Google Play All Access launched in the US with a monthly subscription fee of $10.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury slipped to 1.94 per cent from 1.95 per cent late Tuesday, while the 30-year held steady at 3.16 per cent, the same level as Tuesday. Bond prices move inversely to yields.
