Stocks rise again as tech firms and Amazon set the pace

U.S. stocks climbed Wednesday, driven by gains for big technology companies and Amazon. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Nasdaq composite finished at record highs for the fourth day in a row.

Technology companies, including Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet, made strong gains.

Stocks have rallied over the last four days as investors grew more hopeful about trade talks among the United States, Mexico and Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that Canada could join a trade pact between the United States and Mexico by Friday. Also on Wednesday, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy was a bit stronger than it previously thought.

The S&P 500 advanced 16.52 points, or 0.6%, to 2,914.04. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 60.55 points, or 0.2%, to 26,124.57. The Nasdaq composite jumped 79.65 points, or 1%, to 8,109.69. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks advanced 6.33 points, or 0.4%, to 1,734.75, also a record high.

The S&P 500 has risen 3.5% in August after a 3.6% gain in July. That two-month gain is its best since late 2015.

Amazon jumped 3.4% on Wednesday to $1,998.10 after a Morgan Stanley analyst raised his price target on its stock to $2,500 from $1,850. At that higher target price, Amazon would have a market value of $1.2 trillion.

Other retailers struggled. Dick’s Sporting Goods slid 2.2% to $35.60 after its sales fell short of expectations.

Chico’s FAS fell 4.1% to $8.47 after its quarterly report, and watchmaker Movado sank 15.4% to $41.80. Tiffany sank 4.3% to $125.48. Kohl’s fell 1.9% to $77.34.

Footwear seller Shoe Carnival surged 13.1% to $41.74 after it raised its annual forecasts following a better-than-expected second quarter.

Yum China climbed 5.5% to $39.23 after the Wall Street Journal reported that a group of investors offered to buy it for $46 a share, or $17.6 billion. The Journal said that the offer was made in recent months and that Yum China rejected it.

Roku slumped 4.9% to $59.92 after a report that Amazon may challenge it with an ad-supported video service.

Home builders fell after the National Assn. of Realtors said fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in July compared with the previous month.

Energy companies rose along with oil prices.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.4% to $69.51 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 1.6% to $77.14 a barrel in London. Wholesale gasoline rose 1.3% to $2.11 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1.4% to $2.24 a gallon. Natural gas rose 1.5% to $2.90 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell 0.2% to $1,211.50 an ounce. Silver fell 0.5% to $14.70 an ounce. Copper fell 1% to $2.71 a pound.

Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10year Treasury note stayed at 2.88%.