S&P 500 Hits 6,345 as Apple Surge, Earnings Beat Lift Wall Street

U.S. equities extended their summer advance on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 adding 0.72% to finish at 6,344.70, the Nasdaq Composite gaining 1.19% to 21,164.41, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edging 0.19% higher to 44,193.89. Stronger-than-expected corporate results remained the main catalyst. Aggregate second-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are exceeding analyst estimates by 9.1%, the biggest beat since 2021, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Apple led the technology-heavy Nasdaq after its shares jumped as much as 5.9% on reports the company will announce a $100 billion investment package in the United States later in the day, helping the index touch an intraday peak. Monetary policy commentary also underpinned sentiment. Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said a slowing economy could warrant an interest-rate cut in the near term, reinforcing expectations that borrowing costs may begin to fall this year.