The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached their record high on Wednesday thanks to strong performance in the technology sector. At the same time, investors continue to monitor the effects of the coronavirus epidemic on the global economy.

The broader index S&P 500 ended the session with an increase of nearly 0.5% to 3,389.15 points, managing to surpass its current record. The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.03% to 14.38.

The technology benchmark Nasdaq, in turn, rose by almost 0.9% to 9,817.18 points.

Meanwhile, the blue-chip index Dow Jones Industrial Average added over 110 points (0.4%), reaching a level of 9,817.18 points.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1586 to 1210 and 101 ended unchanged. On the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1564 rose and 1079 declined, while 86 ended unchanged.

The Chinese National Health Commission announced a new 1,794 cases of coronavirus patients, the slowest growth since late January. According to economists, China’s strict quarantine would be eased soon and the government’s focus would shift from fighting the virus to stimulating the economy. However, the number of infected people has crossed the limit of 74,000 and confirmed deaths due to the infection exceed 2,000.

On Wednesday, the US Department of Labor released data on the producer price index, which posted a 0.5% increase in January, the largest month-on-month increase since October 2015.

Earlier today, the Federal Reserve also published the minutes of the last meeting, which made it clear that, according to participants in the meeting, interest rates would remain at their current levels for a fixed time. It also revealed that the central bank is monitoring the coronavirus epidemic and its effects.

Yields on US Treasuries are showing minimal growth, with 10-year and 30-year bonds being 1.568% and 2.013%, respectively.

The dollar index, which measures the strength of US money against a basket of competing currencies, also rose to 99.59 points.

Corporate stocks performance

Apple gained 1.5%. Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF, which tracks technology companies in the S&P 500, grew more than 1% and also broke an absolute record. Tesla’s stock gained 6.7% after Piper Sandler analyst raised its price target to 928 USD from 729 USD.

The shares of technology company Garmin went up by 6.7% reaching a 5-year high, thanks to better-than-expected earnings data. On the opposite pole were the shares on e-commerce site Groupon, which wiped out more than 44% of its value. Its results for the quarter fell short of expectations.

The stocks of Goldman Sachs Group and Walt Disney Company, performed particularly strong, adding 1.77% and 1.55%, respectively.

However, Walmart and Cisco Systems are down by 1.63% and 0.64%, respectively.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Concho Resources Inc (+7.58%), Garmin Ltd (+6.74%) and Diamondback Energy Inc (+6.34%), while on the flipside were Extra Space Storage Inc (-6.86%), Public Storage (-5.59%) and Vornado Realty Trust (-5.02%).