Investing.com - Stocks rebounded from Tuesday's drubbing after President Donald Trump suggested a trade deal with China might come sooner than anyone thinks and investors seemed inclined to ignore the impeachment threat facing the president.
But the rally's power wasn't enough to get the S&P 500 above 3,000. The S&P, up 0.62% on the day, finished below 3,000 for a fourth day in a row.
The Dow Jones industrials moved up 0.61%, thanks to a new high for Nike (NYSE:NKE) and strength in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Boeing (NYSE:BA).
TheNasdaq Composite rose 1.05%, with the Nasdaq 100 Index 1.2% higher.
The market was paced by strength in technology, communications services -- especially Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), consumer discretionary stocks and financial stocks.
Chip stocks led the Nasdaq 100, along with Chinese internet company Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), up 5.3% on the China news.
Trump's comment on the trade talks appeared to be the initial catalyst for the rally, although he didn't offer many specifics. But the stock market lately has moved up and down depending on the state of the trade talks.
On Tuesday, Trump blasted China in a speech to the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York, and stocks crumbled.
In addition, the Commerce Department said new home sales were stronger than expected, a sign that lower mortgage rates are enticing home buyers into the housing market.
Shares of home builders were higher. Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV), up 17.9%. Beazer Homes USA (NYSE:BZH) and DR Horton (NYSE:DHI) hit 52-week highs.
Lower oil prices translated into gains for transportation stocks, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average up nearly1%, led by Ryder System(NYSE:R), FedEx (NYSE:FDX) and American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL).
With the today's close, the major averages appear stuck, with global economic uncertainty limiting bets on a significant upside. The S&P 500 ended the day off 1.4% from its summer peak. The Dow is down 1.53% from its high. The Nasdaq is off more than 3%. Moreover, they've been treading water since mid-September.
Oil prices moved lower. West Texas Intermediate fell 80 cents to $56.49 a barrel. Brent crude dropped 71 cents to $62.39.
Gold futures slumped $37.90 to $1,512.30 as the relief on Trump's trade comment set off profit-taking. Interest rates moved higher. The United States 10-YearTreasury yield moved up to 1.734% from Tuesday's 1.635%.
Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO), Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS), Altria (NYSE:MO) and Nike (NYSE:NKE) were among the top S&P 500 stocks on the day.
SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC), Cimarex Energy (NYSE:XEC), health-insurer Humana (NYSE:HUM) and biotech company Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY) were among theworst S&P 500 performers on the day.