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Read for 4 minutes (Reuters) – NEW YORK (Reuters) – On Wednesday, the S&P 500 set a new closing high for the fifth consecutive day, as investors mostly ignored strong economic data and focused on Friday’s highly anticipated employment report. On June 28, 2021, a surveillance camera is spotted outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, United States. ANDREW KELLY/REUTERS The indices remained lethargic and range-bound in the final session of 2021’s first half, with the blue-chip Dow reporting gains and the Nasdaq edging lower. All three indexes gained for the fifth quarter in a row, with the S&P 500 posting its second-best first-half performance since 1998, increasing 14.4%. Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut, stated, “It’s been a good quarter.” “The S&P 500 had up more than 14% year to date as of last night’s close, outperforming the Dow and Nasdaq. This signifies that the stock market is in the midst of a broad uptrend.” The bellwether S&P 500 gained for the fifth month in a row, but the Dow lost its four-month winning streak. In June, the Nasdaq gained ground as well. Investors’ interest for growth stocks has switched away from economically fragile cyclicals this month. “Year-to-date, the leading sectors are what you’d expect,” Pavlik remarked. “Energy, financials, and industrials are all in the early stages of a cycle, indicating that the economy is in the early stages of a cycle. “”(Investors) began to return to growth (stocks) once people began to believe (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell’s words about temporary inflation, “Pavlik continued. “Some of the reopening trades are becoming a little old, and that’s causing people to return to growth.” (Graph: In June, growth stocks outperformed value equities, narrowing the YTD margin, ) “The general stock market has been on a tear for quite some time, with extremely continuous increases,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York. “While valuations have been high by historical standards, they have remained relatively stable, benefiting from the economic recovery.” According to payroll processor ADP, the private sector added 692,000 jobs in June, above estimates. The figure is 92,000 higher than economists expect from the Labor Department’s more detailed employment report, which will be released on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 225.34 points, or 0.66 percent, to 34,517.63, the S&P 500 rose 6.98 points, or 0.16 percent, to 4,298.78, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 20.12 points, or 0.14 percent, to 14,508.22, according to unofficial data. Following United Airlines’ announcement of its largest-ever purchase for new planes, Boeing Co gained altitude after Germany’s defense ministry stated it would acquire five of the planemaker’s P-8A maritime control aircraft. Micron Technology gained ground ahead of its quarterly results report and after BMO upgraded the chipmaker’s stock to “outperform” from “market perform” in 2022, citing a prolonged supply-demand imbalance. After announcing on Tuesday that it would begin selling a prescription-only insulin analog, Walmart’s stock soared. Stephen Culp contributed reporting from New York; Devik Jain and Medha Singh contributed additional reporting from Bengaluru; and Matthew Lewis edited the piece./nRead More

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