Stock Market Today: Big Energy, Clean Energy Keep Stocks Aloft
Oil settled near one-year highs Wednesday and clean energy received more attention too, helping to keep most of the major indices rolling.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Today
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more delivered daily. Smart money moves start here.
Sent five days a week
Kiplinger A Step Ahead
Get practical help to make better financial decisions in your everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals.
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Closing Bell
Get today's biggest financial and investing headlines delivered to your inbox every day the U.S. stock market is open.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Adviser Intel
Financial pros across the country share best practices and fresh tactics to preserve and grow your wealth.
Delivered weekly
Kiplinger Tax Tips
Trim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Retirement Tips
Your twice-a-week guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirement
Sent bimonthly.
Kiplinger Adviser Angle
Insights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Investing Weekly
Your twice-a-week roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries you should consider, ones you should avoid, and why.
Sent weekly for six weeks
Kiplinger Invest for Retirement
Your step-by-step six-part series on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose.
Some of the major indices managed to extend their winning streaks Wednesday, albeit with more modest advances than in the prior two days.
The Senate yesterday set the stage for Democrats to pass a COVID rescue bill without Republican support, if necessary, voting 50-49 to move ahead with a budget resolution.
Government data detailing dwindling U.S. crude stockpiles sent oil futures up by 1.6% to $55.63 per barrel, to nearly one-year highs, pushing up the likes of Chevron (CVX, +2.2%) and Exxon Mobil (XOM, +3.9%).
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
The earnings calendar continued, too. Shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL, +7.3%) surged to a record close after reporting 23% growth in revenues as well as Street-beating earnings. Amazon.com's (AMZN) first $100 billion quarter was overshadowed by the announcement that CEO Jeff Bezos will step down from that post later this year; while AMZN opened in the black, it weakened throughout the day and finished off 2.0%. That was enough to send the Nasdaq Composite marginally lower to 13,610.
But the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1% to 30,723), S&P 500 (+0.1% to 3,830) and Russell 2000 (+0.3% to 2,157) each notched their third consecutive gain.
Other action in the stock market today:
- Gold futures eked out a 0.1% improvement to $1,835.10 per ounce.
- Bitcoin prices, at $35,842 on Tuesday, advanced 3.4% to $37,068. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.)
- Sherwin-Williams (SHW) declined 1.3% after announcing it would execute a 3-for-1 stock split effective April 1. Based on its Tuesday closing price of $710.54, for instance, the stock would instead trade at $236.85.
A Great Day for "Biden Plays"
A number of popular 2021 investing themes, including several industries expected to enjoy tailwinds from the Biden administration, hit the gas on Wednesday.
For instance, marijuana-related stocks widely rallied today. The ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ, +9.9%), a marijuana-themed ETF, popped yet again to bring its year-to-date returns to 62%.
"Senate Majority Leader Schumer has confirmed that cannabis reform legislation will be a key priority in the current Congress, and that it will include sensible tax and regulatory oversight at the federal level along with criminal justice reform," says Jason Wilson, cannabis and banking expert at ETF Managers Group, which issues MJ.
But it was more than just wide industry gains; the fund also benefited from some M&A action. Component GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH), which produces the cannabinoid-based Epidiolex to treat severe childhood epilepsy, rallied 44.5% after it agreed to a $7 billion buyout from Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ, -3.9%).
Also, numerous green-energy stocks – such as hydrogen fuel cell developer Plug Power (PLUG, +4.9%) and solar play Daqo New Energy (DQ, +3.3%) – continued a multimonth rally that has enriched not just green-energy-specific funds, but even broader funds focused on a wealth of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors.
These factors might sound "squishy" to some, but investors are increasingly finding that companies focused on ESG initiatives deliver market-beating returns. That's good news for holders of these 15 ESG funds, which have grown their assets by leaps and bounds as Wall Street pays increasing attention to their robust performance:
Kyle Woodley was long AMZN and Bitcoin as of this writing.
-
Ask the Tax Editor: Federal Income Tax DeductionsAsk the Editor In this week's Ask the Editor Q&A, Joy Taylor answers questions on federal income tax deductions
-
States With No-Fault Car Insurance Laws (and How No-Fault Car Insurance Works)A breakdown of the confusing rules around no-fault car insurance in every state where it exists.
-
7 Frugal Habits to Keep Even When You're RichSome frugal habits are worth it, no matter what tax bracket you're in.
-
Stocks Sink With Alphabet, Bitcoin: Stock Market TodayA dismal round of jobs data did little to lift sentiment on Thursday.
-
Nasdaq Slides 1.4% on Big Tech Questions: Stock Market TodayPalantir Technologies proves at least one publicly traded company can spend a lot of money on AI and make a lot of money on AI.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into AMD Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayAdvanced Micro Devices stock is soaring thanks to AI, but as a buy-and-hold bet, it's been a market laggard.
-
Dow Rises 313 Points to Begin a Big Week: Stock Market TodayThe S&P 500 is within 50 points of crossing 7,000 for the first time, and Papa Dow is lurking just below its own new all-time high.
-
Nasdaq Leads Ahead of Big Tech Earnings: Stock Market TodayPresident Donald Trump is making markets move based on personal and political as well as financial and economic priorities.
-
11 Stock Picks Beyond the Magnificent 7With my Mag-7-Plus strategy, you can own the mega caps individually or in ETFs and add in some smaller tech stocks to benefit from AI and other innovations.
-
Nasdaq Adds 211 Points as Greenland Tensions Ease: Stock Market TodayWall Street continues to cheer easing geopolitical tensions and President Trump's assurances that there will be no new tariffs on Europe.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into UPS Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayUnited Parcel Service stock has been a massive long-term laggard.
