Stock market today

At the close today the US stock market managed to close higher, reversing previous losses. The closing numbers for the US stock market today:

S&P 500: 3,669.01,+6.56(+0.18%)
Dow 30: 29,883.79,+59.87(+0.20%)
Nasdaq: 12,349.37,-5.74(-0.05%)
Russell 2000: 1,838.03,+1.98(+0.11%)

stock market news

“The S&P 500 turned slightly positive on Wednesday after opening lower, as traders paused after Tuesday’s rally. Energy shares led gains as crude oil rebounded from a day earlier.

The index eked out another record closing high, while the Nasdaq ended slightly lower. Salesforce.com (CRM) lagged in the Dow, though the index closed marginally higher by the end of Wednesday’s session. The software stock fell nearly 9% after the company announced it would be purchasing workplace messaging software company Slack (WORK) in its largest-ever deal valued at $27.7 billion, confirming a week’s worth of media reports over the tie-up. The announcement coincided with Salesforce’s third-quarter earnings results, which topped estimates, though its fourth-quarter profit guidance disappointed.

Despite Wednesday’s pause, investors have largely kept cheering upbeat developments around the approval and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, with both Pfizer and Moderna having filed for emergency use authorization for the vaccines with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Vice President Mike Pence told governors on Tuesday that some doses of the vaccine could start being distributed as early as the middle of this month, according to CBS News. Many health experts expect widespread distribution of the vaccines will take place mid-next year.

In the meantime, Americans continue to contend with the coronavirus pandemic and the economic fallout it has produced. Still, congressional lawmakers and administration officials appear far from reaching a consensus over the size and scope of an additional fiscal stimulus package that could held cushion the economic blow from the virus. A group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers unveiled a $908 billion stimulus proposal on Tuesday, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has favored a smaller relief bill, rejected the proposal, according to CNBC.”

Stock market data: Yahoo Finance