Investing.com - Stocks enjoyed a solid rally Wednesday as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and many chip stocks, along with Boeing (NYSE:BA), attracted investor interest.
The rally brought the major averages close to reaching new highs, a prospect that may be achieved if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates at its meeting next week.
The S&P 500 was up 0.72% and ended with its first close above 3,000 since July 30. The Dow Jones industrials rose 0.85%.
The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.06%. The Nasdaq 100 index added 0.93%.
It was the Dow's sixth-straight gain. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq had their best performances since Thursday.
The S&P 500 and Dow are just under 1% from their all-time highs set in July. The Nasdaq is still about 2% below its peak.
Apple, up 3.2%, rallied on the heels of a well-received product announcement session in California. The session introduced new iPhone models and pricing information on its Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) TV+ and Arcade game services. The gain added 47 points to the Dow's 228-point gain.
Perhaps as important, Apple's market capitalization hit $1.01 trillion, topping the trillion-dollar level for the first time since late 2018. The shares are up nearly 5% this week, 13% for the quarter and 41.8% on the year. Of course, Apple fell more than 30% in last fall's slump.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), up slightly on the day, has a market cap of $1.04 trillion.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) jumped 3.6% despite continued uncertainty over when its 737 Max airliner will go back into service and worries about problems with its new 777X. The gain was responsible for about 91 points of the Dow's rise.
The rally also saw gains for such beaten-down stocks as Alcoa (NYSE:AA), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Macy’s (NYSE:M) and U.S. Steel (NYSE:X).
The demand for U.S. stocks helped push the U.S. dollar higher against major currencies. Crude oil prices moved lower because a rising dollar makes oil more expensive for non-U.S. buyers.
Also helping the dollar's move were higher U.S. interest rates. The 10-Year Treasury yield was at 1.744%, up from 1.702% on Tuesday. President Donald Trump called on the Fed to cut its key federal funds rate to 0%.
Gold futures, however, moved above $1,500 an ounce.
Telecommunications, healthcare, technology and utility stocks were the top sectors. Real estate was the sector showing a loss, but consumer discretionary and energy stocks saw only small gains.
Telecom company CenturyLink (NYSE:CTL), scientific instruments company Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN), retailer Gap (NYSE:GPS) and over-the-counter pharmaceutical maker Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) were among the top S&P 500 performers on the day.
Oil services giant Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHGE), software maker Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO), Internet infrastructure company VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) and DaVita HealthCare Partners (NYSE:DVA), which provides kidney dialysis services, were among the largest S&P 500 laggards.