Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Nabs a New Record High
The main indexes carved out notable gains Wednesday thanks to well-received earnings from Chipotle and Roblox.


Stocks opened higher Wednesday and kept climbing through the close. In focus were comments from several Federal Reserve officials – many of whom echoed the hawkish tone Fed Chair Jerome Powell has struck recently regarding interest rates.
However, the latest round of corporate earnings reports lifted sentiment, with burrito chain Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) among those posting strong results.
There were no fewer than four senior central bank officials making appearances Wednesday, including Fed Governor Adriana Kugler. Speaking at the Brookings Institute in Washington D.C., Kugler said that she's pleased with the progress that's been made so far with bringing inflation down and added that "at some point" it will be appropriate to cut the federal funds rate.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-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.
Still, she emphasized that "it is critical" inflation returns to the Fed's 2% target and "if progress on disinflation stalls, it may be appropriate to hold the target range steady at its current level for longer."
According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, futures traders are currently pricing in an 18% chance the Fed will cut rates by a quarter-percentage point in March, down from 53% one week ago. The odds for a May cut are 53%.
Chipotle, Roblox rise after earnings
In single-stock news. Chipotle Mexican Grill rose 7.1% after the burrito chain reported top- and bottom-line beats for its fourth quarter. The company also said same-store sales were up 8.4% for the three-month period, higher than analysts were expecting.
"Same-store sales benefited from higher customer traffic and, to a lesser extent, an increase in the average check," says Argus Research analyst John Staszak.
Roblox (RBLX) was another post-earnings gainer, with the metaverse stock surging 10.3% after its results. In addition to fourth-quarter revenue that was up 30% year-over-year to $749.9 million, bookings jumped 25% to $1.1 billion. Average daily active users and average monthly unique payers were also up by double-digit percentage points.
Snap craters after top-line miss
At the other end of the spectrum was Snap (SNAP), which crumbled 34.6% after earnings. While the Snapchat parent reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings of 8 cents per share, revenue of $1.36 billion fell short of analysts' estimates. Additionally, the company gave weak first-quarter guidance.
"While Snap may have been spending in the right places, the returns on those investments have been slower to materialize than some would like, and 2023 may be remembered as a lost year for the company, where user growth decelerated and revenues were flat," says Scott Kessler, global sector lead for technology, media and telecommunications at Third Bridge. While Snap seems to have made some progress with its initiatives, today's price action indicates that investors don't want to wait, Kessler adds.
Buffett scoops up more OXY shares
In non-earnings news, Occidental Petroleum (OXY, +0.1%) made headlines after a Tuesday night regulatory filing revealed Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) bought 4.3 million OXY shares between February 1 and February 5.
Buffett & Co. first started accumulating shares of the energy stock in the first quarter of 2022. At the end of Q3 2023, the holding company owned more than 224 million Occidental shares, accounting for 4.6% of the Berkshire Hathaway equity portfolio. Considering OXY declined 3.6% in January, Buffett was likely buying the dip on one of his favorite oil stocks.
As for the main indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 38,677 and the S&P 500 added 0.8% to 4,995, both new record closes. The Nasdaq Composite tacked on 1.0% to 15,756.
Related content
- Does NYCB's Selloff Make Regional Bank Stocks a Buy?
- What to Know About The Recalls at Honda and GM
- How to Find the Best Emerging Market Stocks
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Last Call for Fortnite Refunds: Parents Can Still File a Claim
The FTC is sending out $126 million in refunds to families whose kids were charged for unwanted items in Fortnite — and there’s still time to file a claim.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Swing as Trump Scraps Canada Trade Talks
Despite a mid-afternoon slip, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended the day at new record highs.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Swing as Trump Scraps Canada Trade Talks
Despite a mid-afternoon slip, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended the day at new record highs.
-
Why Smart Retirees Are Ditching Traditional Financial Plans
Financial plans based purely on growth, like the 60/40 portfolio, are built for a different era. Today’s retirees need plans based on real-life risks and goals and that feature these four elements.
-
To My Small Business: Well, I've Been Afraid of Changin', 'Cause I've Built My Life Around You
While thinking about succession planning might feel like anticipating a landslide (here's to you, Fleetwood Mac), there are strategies you can implement to manage the uncertainty and the transition.
-
Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq Near New Highs
The S&P 500 hasn't hit a new high since February. It's been since December for the Nasdaq.
-
The Bull Case for the Second Half of 2025
This strategist sees a volatile market segueing to a strong close this year.
-
7 Essential Investing Rules We All Should Know
The best time to start investing is right now. That's just one vital rule investors should be familiar with. Here are six more.
-
These Are the Key Tariff Issues to Watch in Coming Months
While they're not dominating headlines right now, tariffs are not over. Some key dates are coming up fast that could upend markets all over again.
-
Technology Unleashes the Power of Year-Round Tax-Loss Harvesting
Tech advancements have made it possible to continuously monitor and rebalance portfolios, allowing for harvesting losses throughout the year rather than just once a year.