Stocks closed modestly higher as Wall Street recovered some of this week’s steep losses ahead of a highly anticipated speech by the Federal Reserve chair later this week.
The S&P 500 ended 0.3 percent higher Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq also inched higher. Trading has been quiet the last two days ahead of a speech on Friday by Jerome Powell. Investors hope he’ll offer clarity about where interest rates are heading.
Treasury yields rose after a report showed orders for long-lasting goods were stronger in July than expected, excluding transportation.
On Wednesday (Aug. 24):
- The S&P 500 rose 12.04 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,140.77.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 59.64 points, or 0.2 percent, to 32,969.23.
- The Nasdaq gained 50.23 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,431.53.
- The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 16.14 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,935.29.
- The S&P 500 is down 87.71 points, or 2.1 percent.
- The Dow is down 737.51 points, or 2.2 percent.
- The Nasdaq is down 273.69 points, or 2.2 percent.
- The Russell 2000 is down 22.06 points, or 1.1 percent.
- The S&P 500 is down 625.41 points, or 13.1 percent.
- The Dow is down 3,369.07 points, or 9.3 percent.
- The Nasdaq is down 3,213.44 points, or 20.5 percent.
- The Russell 2000 is down 310.03 points, or 13.8 percent.