-- Wednesday, July 1, 2020, 16:35 --
U.S. stocks ended mostly higher on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite hit record high, as Pfizer’s (PFE) coronavirus vaccine candidate showing progress in a trial phase and the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep the monetary spigots open “for years”. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 77.91 points, or 0.30%, to 25,734.97. The S&P 500 added 15.57 points, or 0.50%, to 3,115.86. The Nasdaq Composite rose 95.86 points, or 0.95%, to 10,154.63.
Oil futures ended higher Wednesday after a U.S. government report showed the largest weekly decline in domestic crude inventories so far this year. West Texas Intermediate crude for August rose 55 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $39.82 a barrel. Brent oil for September picked up 76 cents, or 1.8%, to $42.03 a barrel.
Market participants parsed minutes from the Fed’s June 9-10 meeting where the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee agreed to provide clarity in future communications about what would cause the central bank to keep rates close to zero or move them higher.