Investing.com - The S&P 500 closed above 2,900 for the first time Wednesday on optimism over U.S-Canada talks and soaring tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 0.23%. The S&P 500 rose 0.57%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose about 0.99%.
Fresh from successfully clinching a bilateral agreement with Mexico earlier this week, the United States appears to be inching tentatively closer toward a further trade agreement, this time with Canada.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that it may be possible to reach a compromise on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) ahead of President Donald Trump's Friday deadline, but tempered expectations somewhat, claiming the deal had to be "right" for Canada.
Earlier Wednesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland also expressed optimism, although conceded that a "huge amount" of work was needed to resolve issues.
Canada is eager for any revamp of NAFTA to preserve the existing dispute-resolution systems, NAFTA’s Chapter 19. The provision allows a NAFTA member's appeal to be heard by an independent third party made up of trade experts from both disputing countries.
Canada sees Chapter 19 as a vital tool to protect its businesses from the threat of U.S. tariffs. The U.S., meanwhile, has demanded that Canada open up its protected dairy industry.
In a sign of optimism over a potential U.S.-Canada deal, dairy-sensitive names rose. Dean Foods (NYSE:DF) ended the day up 1.75%.
Also supporting the record-setting day for the broader averages was a rally in tech stocks, led by Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), as both were boosted by upbeat research notes from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).
Amazon was also helped by reports the e-commerce giant plans to launch its own ad-supported over-the-top (OTT) streaming service that offers free content to viewers, rivalling a similar service offered by Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU).
Energy stocks, meanwhile, pushed the broader market higher as oil prices settled at three-week highs after U.S. crude inventories fell more-than-expected and Iranian crude exports dropped.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for October delivery gained 1.4% to settle at $69.51 a barrel.
Adding to the upside momentum was upbeat U.S. economic data, reaffirming the economy remains on solid footing.
Gross domestic product increased at a 4.2% annual rate in the April-June period, the Commerce Department said Wednesday in its penultimate estimate, beating economists' forecast of 4.0% and ahead of the preliminary reading of 4.1% seen last month.
On the corporate earnings front, Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) stock slumped after comparable sales and revenue fell short of expectations.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) stock closed flat despite the company’s fiscal third-quarter results beating on both the top and bottom lines. While Box (NYSE:BOX) stock sank 11% as the company forecast a wider-than-expected loss per share for the third quarter.
Top S&P 500 Gainers and Losers Today:
Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) and Abiomed (NASDAQ:ABMD) were among the top S&P 500 gainers for the session.
Tiffany & Co (NYSE:TIF), BorgWarner (NYSE:BWA) and Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.