Dow And S&P 500 Reach New Record Closing Highs

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after showing a notable move to the downside at the open. With the rebound, the Dow and the S&P 500 managed to reach new record closing highs.

Most of the major sectors moved to the upside over the course of the trading day, contributing to the turnaround by the broader markets.

Electronic storage stocks turned in a particularly strong performance, resulting in a 1.9 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index. Quantum (QTM) and Imation (IMN) posted standout gains, jumping by 6.8 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively.

Significant strength also emerged among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Software Index. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level since 2000.

Brokerage stocks also showed a strong upward move, driving the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index up by 1.3 percent to a five-year closing high. Telecom, retail, and housing stocks also saw considerable strength on the day.

The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow rose 70.96 points or 0.5 percent to 15,821.63, the Nasdaq jumped 45.66 points or 1.2 percent at 3,965.58 and the S&P 500 advanced 14.31 points or 0.8 percent to 1,782.00.