US Stock Markets Today: S&P 500 Nears All-Time High, Tech Shares Drive Early Gains

The US stock market opened higher on Wednesday, with all three major indices in the green. The broader index, S&P 500, neared an all-time high after opening 0.53% higher at 6,081.39.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.74% to 19,903.05 at the opening bell.

The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 0.34% higher at 44,178.06 as the trading commenced on Wall Street.

The early rise in the indices was driven by the technology stocks, with Nvidia Corp. rising up to 3% as well as Oracle regarding optimism in artificial intelligence.

Among the stocks that gained in early trade were Nvidia Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. Stocks like Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola Co. and Boeing Co. dipped in the early minutes of trade.

Among the 11 S&P 500 sectoral indices, all but one were trading higher against the previous day's close. The gains were led by real estate, utilities and health care.

“The market is off to a good start to President Trump's second term,” said Matt Maley of Miller Tabak to Bloomberg.

“If this earnings season is a good one, it's a rally that could have legs. However, it will take more than merely ‘beating expectations' to fuel a further rally of significance,” he said.

As the US market opened, spot gold was edging 0.29% higher at $2,752.81, and Brent crude oil was trading 0.39% lower at $78.98.

The Bloomberg Dollar Index changed slightly, with the British pound slipping 0.2% to $1.2331, while the Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 156.06 per dollar.

Bitcoin, the largest traded cryptocurrency, dipped 2% to $104,651.36.