Fed chief, Disney send Dow, S&P 500 to records
Wall Street had a lot to digest Wednesday: Congressional testimony by the head of the Federal Reserve, a possible setback for the U.S.-China trade deal, and the start of impeachment hearings on Capitol Hill.
Still, The Dow and S&P 500 managed to set fresh record closing highs but the Nasdaq inched lower.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers the economy was in good shape and he saw no reason why the record-long 11-year expansion without a recession was near an end.
His testimony came on the same day a report showed consumer prices jumped the most in seven months, but remained below the Fed's two percent target.
That helped offset investor unease surrounding the U.S.-China trade deal that has yet to be signed. Negotiations between the world's two biggest economies have hit a snag over farm purchases, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Ross Gerber is CEO of Gerber Kawasaki.
SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) GERBER KAWASAKI CEO ROSS GERBER, SAYING:
"It's clear that the markets and the economies of the world want resolution, want tariffs removed and so any hint that this deal might not get done is going to put pressure on stocks. There is no question."
Shares of Walt Disney jumped to an all-time high. There were more than 10 million sign-ups for video streaming service Disney+ in just one day. The entertainment conglomerate was the best performing stock in the Dow and S&P 500. By the way, shares of Netflix were down.
Also on the downside, SmileDirectClub was the most recent IPO to disappoint during this earnings season. The teeth alignment company not only posted a bigger quarterly loss, it also warned of even more losses this year. The stock saw almost 20 percent of its value wiped away.
