(Reuters) - The Nasdaq touched a record on Wednesday, lifted by a climb in large-cap tech and consumer discretionary names, while the Dow and S&P 500 were hemmed in as concerns over an escalation in the U.S.-China trade spat simmered.
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc climbed 7.8 percent after Walt Disney Co, up 0.7 percent, sweetened its offer for some of the company’s assets to $71.3 billion, looking to topple Comcast Corp’s bid, up 2.2 percent.
The S&P 500 was poised to snap a three-session losing streak, as gains in media stocks helped send the consumer discretionary sector up 0.7 percent.
Names such as Facebook Inc up 2.8 percent, part of the so-called “FAANG” group, also rose. Alphabet nL4N1TM43P advanced 1.5 percent and Amazon.com Inc rose 1.4 percent. Shares in those companies have been relatively unaffected by trade worries. The S&P tech sector was 0.7 percent higher.
Shares in Boeing Co, which has acted as a proxy for trade fears, rose 0.8 percent after six straight declines and kept the Dow near the unchanged mark. The planemaker was considering plans of a new mid-market jet that could enter service in 2025.
“There haven’t been new trade tariffs announced. Investors can focus a little more on the fundamentals,” said Sameer Samana, global equity and technical strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute in St. Louis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 15.7 points, or 0.06 percent, to 24,684.51, the S&P 500 gained 8.69 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,771.28 and the Nasdaq Composite added 74.08 points, or 0.96 percent, to 7,799.67.
Markets skidded on Tuesday after President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats against Chinese goods
