Big gains for technology and health care companies helped U.S. stocks set records again Wednesday. Rising crude and heating oil prices also sent energy companies higher.
Chipmakers including Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices made big gains while Intel skidded following news its processors have a security flaw that could slow down computers. Energy company Scana, which plunged after it canceled a $9 billion nuclear project and started raising rates to cover its costs, jumped after Dominion Energy agreed to buy it for $7.9 billion in stock.
Energy companies jumped for the second day in a row as oil prices, already at 2 1/2 year highs, rose again. One reason is that after a pipeline bombing in Libya last month and ongoing anti-government protests in Iran, investors are concerned oil supplies will get interrupted.
"Something that's coming back into the market which we've been missing over the last few years is this geopolitical risk premium," said Nick Koutsoftas, portfolio manager at Cohen & Steers. Investors didn't worry much about those risks in recent years because big stockpiles of oil had built up. Those stockpiles are shrinking now, which has helped oil prices but also made them more vulnerable to surprises.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 17.25 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,713.06. The Dow Jones industrial average added 98.67 points, or 0.4 percent, to 24,922.68. The Nasdaq composite climbed 58.63 points, or 0.8 percent, to 7,065.53. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gained 2.56 points, or 0.2 percent, 1,552.58. All four finished at record highs.
Benchmark U.S. crude added $1.26, or 2.1 percent, to $61.63 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, picked up $1.27, or 1.8 percent, to $67.84 a barrel in London.
Heating oil and natural gas prices also have climbed as severe cold gripped much of the U.S. Heating oil rose 3 cents to $2.09 a gallon, and it's up 12 cents since Dec. 22. Natural gas slid 5 cents to $3.01 per 1,000 cubic feet, and it's up 34 cents over that time.