US close: Stocks edge higher on strong economic data and hopes of Greek compromise
US stocks extended gains on Wednesday, as a plethora of better-than-expected economic reports and hopes of concessions from Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras kept investors' hopes alive.
At close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 138 points higher at 17,758, while the S&P 500 was up 14 points to 2,077 and the Nasdaq gained 26 points to 5,013.
Greece will hold a referendum on Sunday to vote on whether to accept its creditors' austerity demands.
Tsipras reportedly sent a letter to the heads of the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank on Tuesday evening, saying that he would accept all the reforms of Greece’s VAT system, with one change - the maintenance of a special 30% discount for Greek islands.
"It's Greece every day all day, that certainly had an influence," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.
"There's some suspicion that perhaps a deal could be worked out even in advance of a referendum," he added.
The Institute for Supply Management´s purchasing managers´ index for manufacturing rose to a reading of 53.5 – the highest since January - after a print of 52.8 in the prior month. Analysts had been anticipating a reading of 53.2.
Construction spending increased by 0.8% month-on-month in May (consensus: 0.4%).
Consultant ADP´s monthly estimate of private sector payrolls revealed a 237,000 person increase in June, higher than the 211,000 expected by economists. That followed a 203,000 print for the month before.
In company news, AeroVironment surged more than 11% after the drone manufacturer reporter increased sales of its unmanned aircraft.
Peabody Energy Corp plunged 19% after warning that it a wider-than-expected loss was on the horizon in the second quarter.
Energy stocks Enso and Transocean Rig were in the red after OPEC decided not to cap production despite the ongoing supply glut.
Elsewhere, Chinese shares rebounded from Monday’s steep decline, while Japan’s Nikkei edged 0.63% higher.
Oil futures dipped more than 4% to a five-week low, after a government report revealing higher weekly crude supplies exacerbated oversupply concerns.
Gold futures also inched lower, while the dollar gained against the euro, the yuan and the pound.
S&P 500 - Risers
Chubb Corp. (CB) $119.99 +26.12%
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) $44.22 +6.37%
Tesoro Corp. (TSO) $88.55 +4.90%
Cincinnati Financial Corp. (CINF) $52.54 +4.70%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $103.07 +4.46%
Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) $24.86 +3.84%
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (KRFT) $88.27 +3.68%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $62.25 +3.51%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $64.49 +3.04%
Macerich Co (MAC) $76.77 +2.91%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Baxter International Inc. (BAX) $38.86 -44.43%
Graham Holdings Co. (GHC) $683.92 -36.38%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $1.78 -18.72%
Masco Corp. (MAS) $23.77 -10.87%
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) $5.84 -8.18%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $10.55 -5.55%
Rowan Companies plc (RDC) $20.03 -5.12%
Joy Global Inc. (JOY) $34.40 -4.97%
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $13.74 -4.78%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $39.66 -4.41%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $99.34 +2.77%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $79.72 +1.89%
Boeing Co. (BA) $140.73 +1.45%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $71.89 +1.35%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $109.43 +1.31%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $57.63 +1.23%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $123.46 +1.20%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $164.58 +1.18%
Visa Inc. (V) $67.89 +1.13%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $98.54 +1.11%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $61.43 -3.90%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $83.95 -1.03%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $82.37 -1.00%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.18 -0.77%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $96.03 -0.46%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $27.35 -0.40%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $110.79 -0.13%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $103.07 +4.46%
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (KRFT) $88.27 +3.68%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $62.25 +3.51%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $69.70 +2.71%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $26.34 +2.53%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $230.98 +2.21%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $126.18 +2.19%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $24.73 +2.15%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $118.22 +2.15%
Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) $135.50 +1.93%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $56.41 -3.11%
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $74.70 -2.52%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $107.19 -1.98%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $69.38 -1.11%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $116.00 -0.92%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.18 -0.77%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $506.80 -0.65%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $97.63 -0.58%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $27.35 -0.40%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $18.78 -0.32%