Investing.com -- U.S. stocks remained near multi-month highs on Wednesday, as markets took a pause from a recent stretch of extreme volatility on a quiet day of trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 66.77 or 0.37% to 18,005.05, for its third straight winning session and its sixth over the last eight trading days. Since falling to two-month lows on May 19, the Dow has rallied by nearly 700 points or 2.5%. With the gains, the Dow closed above 18,000 for the first time since late-April.
The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, posted fractional gains to hit fresh 7-month highs before closing at 2,119.12, up 6.99 or 0.33% on the day. For the session, eight of 10 sectors closed in the green as stocks in the Basic Materials, Utilities and Industrials led. Energy stocks lagged even as U.S. crude futures jumped to their highest level since last July, before settling above $51 a barrel. The S&P 500 remains approximately 1% below its all-time record high. The NASDAQ Composite index gained 12.89 or 0.26% to 4,974.64, amid strong performances from Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA).
The top performer on the Dow was UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which gained 3.46 or 2.53% to 140.40. It came after UnitedHealth's Board of Directors authorized a cash dividend of 0.625 per share, representing a 25% increase from its quarterly dividend offered in the second quarter of Fiscal Year, 2015. The dividend will be paid on June 28 to all common shareholders of record at the close of trading on June 17. At one point on Wednesday, UnitedHealth shares hit an all-time record high at 140.89.
"This increase in our dividend results from the growth generated by our work to elevate our quality and customer satisfaction, while remaining focused on costs and value," said David Wichmann, Chief Financial Officer, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH).
The worst performer was VZ Holding AG (SIX:VZN), which fell 0.29 or 0.55% to 51.47. Verizon gave back some of its gains from the previous session, one day after the Wall Street Journal reported that the telecom giant could bid as much as $3 billion for Yahoo's (NASDAQ:YHOO) core internet business. Verizon shares are up by more than 11% over the last six months.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) (NASDAQ:CSX), which added 0.53 or 1.98% to 27.00. Since falling to 1-month lows in mid-May, shares in the Jacksonville-based railroad company have increased by 8%. On May 17, CSX chief financial officer Frank Longero cautioned that the company had seen volume declines across most of their markets, reflecting a persistent downturn in commodity prices. The worst performer was Ctripcom International Ltd (NASDAQ:CTRP), which lost 2.27 or 5.12% to 42.03. At one point on Wednesday, shares in the China-base travel website fell below its 200-day moving average.
Elsewhere, yields on the Germany 10-Year remained flat at 0.05%, as the European Central Bank launched a comprehensive corporate bond buying program aimed at helping jumpstart inflation. It came one day after government bond yields on German bunds fell to an all-time record-low at 0.04%. In the U.S.. yields on the 10-Year Treasuries fell one basis point to 1.70%. As government bond yields worldwide hover near historic lows, market players have piled into riskier investments in equities.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,033-969 margin.