S&P 500 ticks up slightly to snap 3-day skid

Stocks closed higher on Wall Street on Wednesday, nudging the S&P500 to its first gain in four days, as investors weighed a mixed set of reports on the economy.

The S&P 500 inched up 0.1% after shedding most of its gains from earlier in the day. The benchmark index remains on track for a weekly loss. Gains by financial, communication services, energy and other sectors were kept in check by declines elsewhere, including technology companies, which helped pulled the Nasdaq slightly lower.

The S&P 500 rose 2.75 points to 3,690.01. The benchmark index set a record high Thursday and is up 14.2% so far this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 114.32 points, or 0.4%, to 30,129.83. The Nasdaq composite fell 36.80 points, or 0.3%, to 12,771.11. The tech-heavy index has notched new highs 54 times this year as Big Tech companies have led the market higher.

The Russell 2000 index climbed above the 2,000-point mark for the first time. It gained 17.22 points, or 0.9%, to 2,007.10. The index has risen 10.3% this month, roughly half of its gain for far this year.

Overnight, Wall Street had seemed to be heading for a rockier day of trading. U.S. stock futures initially dropped after President Donald Trump said he may not sign the $900 billion rescue for the economy that Congress just approved. But they eventually drifted upward as investors looked past the unexpected pushback.

Markets around the world were relatively buoyant. Many Asian and European stock markets also rose, while Treasury yields climbed. Thin trading in this holiday-shortened week could make market moves more erratic. So could investors looking to close out positions as the end of the year approaches.

“The market is just inclined to go higher,” said Andrew Mies, chief investment officer at investment advisory firm 6 Meridien. “There’s a positive seasonal trend behind that. There’s obviously a tremendous momentum move that we’ve seen in the market over the last eight months, and it just doesn’t seem like it wants to end.”