The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 kept ripping pages out of the record book Wednesday after an accidental early release of the Fed’s most recent minutes indicated a continuation of its monetary easing policy through mid-2013.
Investors were also encouraged by a report showing a 10% year-over-year increase in trade with China.
The Dow — which was powered by tech components Intel (NASDAQ:INTC, +2.5%), Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO, +2%) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT, +2%) — rose 0.88% to set a new high of 14082.24.
Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) joined the tech surge after announcing they are in discussions to expand their partnership in Apple’s iOS platform, helping the Nasdaq to a huge 1.83% improvement to 3297.25, and pushing the S&P 500 1.22% to a new high-water mark of 1587.73. Apple and Yahoo each finished up around 2%, with the latter trading around five-year highs.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) stock rose nearly 4% after unveiling a new way to monetize users that involves gathering data from outside the social network, such as spending patterns. Also Wednesday, General Motors (NYSE:GM) said it would start advertising its latest subcompact offering, the Chevrolet Sonic, on the social website, ending a one-year long hiatus from the site.
The day wasn’t as kind to solar panel manufacturer First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR), which retreated 7% following Tuesday’s massive guidance-fueled run-up. Jinksolar (NYSE:JKS, -6.9%) and Sunpower (NASDAQ:SPWR, -5.4%) saw similar selloffs.
Computer networking company Adtran (NASDAQ:ADTN) soared nearly 14% on a huge first-quarter earnings beat, while Family Dollar (NYSE:FDO) missed earnings estimates and provided weak forward guidance, yet still saw shares improve more than 1%.
And lastly, homebuilder Taylor Morrison (NYSE:TMHC) started its first day as a public company with a bang, jumping over 4% after pricing at the high end of its range.
Three Up
- Nii Holdings (NASDAQ:NIHD): Up 13.9% (90 cents) to $7.39.
- VirnetX Holding (AMEX:VHC): Up 9.9% ($1.90) to $21.03.
- Sinclair Broadcasting (NASDAQ:SBGI): Up 7% ($1.42) to $21.83.
Three Down
- Resource Capital (NYSE:RSO): Down 4.6% (30 cents) to $6.23.
- Best Buy (NYSE:BBY): Down 3.6% (92 cents) to $24.82.
- Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST): Down 3.5% ($1.76) to $49.12.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing he is long MSFT, YHOO and AAPL.
