Wall Street Rises as Traders Shrug Off Weak Data

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U.S. equity markets posted gains on Wednesday as traders shrugged off two disappointing economic reports.

Today's Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49 points, or 0.29%, to 16867, the S&P 500 advanced 9.5 points, or 0.49%, to 1959 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 29.4 points, or 0.68%, to 4379.

The broad S&P 500 sustained its biggest drop since June 12 on Tuesday, as energy stocks sold off. The markets appear to have stabilized on Wednesday as traders review the latest batch of economic data.

The U.S. economy contracted at an annual rate of 2.9% in the first quarter, the biggest drop since the first quarter of 2009, from a previous estimate of a contraction of 1%. Wall Street expected the world’s biggest economy to shrink by an annual rate of 1.7%.

The Commerce Department said orders for long-lasting goods dropped 1% in May, while Wall Street expected orders to remain unchanged from the month prior. Excluding the transportation component, orders fell 0.1% compared to a 0.4% gain economists anticipated.

Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures rose 42 cents, or 0.4%, to $106.45 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline dipped 0.66% to $3.105 a gallon. Gold slumped $6.40, or 0.48%, to $1,315 a troy ounce.