Investing.com – Stocks rallied for a second day in a row, pushed higher by gains in big tech stocks and continued hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.
The gains were handsome, although not as dramatic as Tuesday when the market soared in its biggest rally since Jan. 4. The S&P 500 moved up 0.82%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.82%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.64%.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) led tech stocks higher and contributed 48 points to the Dow's 207-point gain. A late-buying surge helped Boeing (NYSE:BA) add 28 points to the index.
The S&P 500 was helped by a 5% gain in shares of Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM), which reported better-than-expected earnings and boosted guidance for the year. Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) jumped 10% after earnings beat estimates.
When and if the Fed will make a move on interest rates is open to question. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell promised in a Tuesday speech in Chicago that the Fed would do all it can to keep the economy growing if trade disputes become serious. But Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool projects an 72% chance the central bank will leave rates alone at its June 18-19 meeting.
Some traders believed the chances for a cut improved after the ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) employment report was weaker than expected. The U.S. Labor Department will report on job growth and unemployment on Friday.
The market's gains were limited slightly by weakness in energy stocks after oil prices tumbled. WTI fell 3.4% to $51.68 a barrel and Brent, the global benchmark, dropped 2.2% to $60.63 after briefly falling below $60 a barrel for the first time since late January. Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) fell 6%.
On the other hand, American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) rose 4.3% in large part because oil prices were lower. Going into Wednesday, the shares had been down 9.3%. Fuel is typically an airline's largest expense.
But there was hope that the Trump administration would delay imposing new tariffs on goods shipped into the United States from Mexico. President Donald Trump said he believed Mexico wants to agree to a deal cracking down on illegal immigration.
With Wednesday's gains, the S&P 500 is up 2.69% in the first three days of trading in June, with the Dow up 2.92% and the Nasdaq 1.64%. The indexes fell by similar amounts in the first week of trading in May. The S&P is up 12.7% for the year, with the Nasdaq up 14.2%.
At the same time, the S&P 500 is down 4.33% from its peak in April. The Nasdaq is down 7.35% from its April peak.
The Dow is still 5.24% below its all-time high reached on Oct. 3.
S&P 500 Winners and losers
Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB), Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) and alcohol-beverage conglomerate Brown Forman (NYSE:BFa) were among the top S&P 500 gainers on the day.
Range Resources (NYSE:RRC), Cimarex Energy (NYSE:XEC) and Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) were among the worst performers among S&P 500 stocks.