S&P 500 sets record after Wall Street emerges from lull

NEW YORK (AP) U.S. stocks hit a record high Wednesday after emerging from a three-day lull.

The S&P 500 rose 44.91 points, or 0.9%, to 5,248.49. It was the index's first gain since hitting its last all-time high on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 477.75, or 1.2%, to 39,760.08, and the Nasdaq composite gained 83.82, or 0.5%, to 16,399.52. Both finished a little short of their own records.

Merck soared 5% after federal regulators approved its treatment for adults with pulmonary hypertension, a rare condition in which blood vessels in the lungs thicken and narrow.

Cintas, a supplier of work uniforms and office supplies, also contributed to the rise in the S&P 500. It jumped 8.2% after reporting a profit for the latest quarter that was higher than analysts expected.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, meanwhile, continued their wild ride and rose another 14.2%. The company behind this loss of money Social truth The platform has expanded far beyond what critics consider rational, as fans of former President Donald Trump continue to push it higher.

Robinhood Markets rose 3.7% after unveiling its first credit card, reserved for its subscription-paying Gold members, as well as other new products.

On the losing side of Wall Street was Nvidia, which slumped to a second straight loss after soaring 91% for the year so far. It fell 2.5% as some investors may have locked in profits before closing their accounts in the first quarter of the year. Nvidia has been one of the biggest winners from Wall Street's frenzy around artificial intelligence.

GameStop fell 15% after reporting a profit for the most recent quarter and a drop in revenue from a year earlier. This is the original meme stock, predating Trump Media by several years, where its price often moved more based on the sentiment of investors with smaller pockets than traditional fundamentals such as its earnings and revenue.

In the bond market, Treasury yields fell on a day with few economic reports to shake things up.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.19% from 4.23% Tuesday evening.

The highlight of this week for the bond market could come on Friday, when the U.S. government releases the latest monthly update on U.S. consumer spending. It will include the measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve prefers to use in setting interest rates.

The US bond and stock markets will be closed that day for Good Friday. This could lead to a clustering of anticipated trades on Thursday. This will be the last trading day of the first quarter of the year, which could further disrupt things.

The S&P 500 is on track for a fifth straight month of gains and has been rising since late October. The U.S. economy has remained remarkably resilient despite high interest rates intended to keep inflation in check. Additionally, the Federal Reserve appears poised to begin lowering interest rates this year as inflation has calmed from its peak.

But critics say more companies will need to generate strong profit growth to justify the big price swings. Progress in the implementation inflation down also became bumpier recently, with reports this year, I arrive hotter than expected.

However, the general expectations of traders are to the Federal Reserve to start reducing its main interest rate in June.

Stocks generally tend to perform better when more than half of the world's central banks lower interest rates, according to Ned Davis Research. The world isn't there yet, but several central banks have already started cutting spending recently, like Switzerland's, and that could happen later this year.

In foreign stock markets, indices were mixed in Europe and Asia.

Chinese stocks were among the worst performers. Shares fell 1.4% in Hong Kong and 1.3% in Shanghai.

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AP Business writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.