Disney, Apple help S&P close at record high for 100th time under Trump

U.S. stocks hover at record levels.

Disney and Apple kicked into high gear Wednesday afternoon, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to record highs. The latter closed at a record high for the 100th time under President Trump, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
AAPL APPLE INC. 173.31 +3.60 +2.12%
DIS THE WALT DISNEY CO. 120.98 +1.05 +0.88%
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 39760.08 +477.75 +1.22%
SP500 S&P 500 5248.49 +44.91 +0.86%

Disney reported big numbers for the debut of Disney Plus with 10 million subscribers despite what was viewed as a rocky launch, while Apple shares hit an all-time high after the tech giant announced a new MacBook Pro with a bigger screen and more functional keyboard.

The two Dow members helped stabilize stocks, which swung between gains and losses as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told the Joint Economic Committee that interest rates will likely remain at current levels. Investors also shrugged off the start of impeachment hearings on Capitol Hill.

The Nasdaq closed fractionally lower, but remained near all-time highs.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 16399.520634 +83.82 +0.51%

Stocks erased the bulk of their morning losses, which developed after President Trump said the day prior that he could raise tariffs on Chinese goods.

Tuesday's gains came after Trump, during a speech at the Economic Club of New York, threatened more tariff hikes on Chinese imports if talks aimed at ending the trade war fail to produce an interim agreement. Trump said Tuesday an agreement on the phase one deal announced last month "could happen soon," but he warned he was ready to raise tariffs "very substantially" if that fails.

Trade-sensitive names like Caterpillar and Boeing remain in focus as investors digested the latest on U.S.-China trade talks.

Elsewhere, Tech Data rallied after agreeing to be acquired by the private-equity firm Apollo Global Management for $130 a share, or approximately $5.4 billion.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
CAT CATERPILLAR INC. 364.65 +8.26 +2.32%
BA THE BOEING CO. 191.95 +4.45 +2.37%
TECD n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

On the earnings front, Canada Goose reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and reiterated its full-year guidance for sales growth of at least 20 percent. Still, shares fell after the retailer warned that it's wholesale business was underperforming.

Battery-maker Energizer Holdings was sharply higher after reporting strong sales were boosted by acquisitions by the company’s battery and auto care businesses.

Meanwhile, the Canadian cannabis producer Tilray was lower after its third-quarter loss widened to $35.7 million, from $18.7 million a year ago, as its costs surged.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
GOOS CANADA GOOSE HLDGS 11.66 +0.55 +4.95%
TLRY TILRAY BRANDS INC. 2.48 +0.17 +7.36%
ENR ENERGIZER HOLDINGS INC. 29.11 +1.22 +4.37%

Economic data out Wednesday morning was light. Consumer prices rose 0.4 percent last month, according to Labor Department data, slightly above the 0.3 percent gain that economists surveyed by Refinitiv were anticipating.

U.S. Treasurys gained, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down 2.8 basis points to 1.881 percent.

Elsewhere, commodities were higher with gold up 0.8 percent near $1,465 an ounce and West Texas Intermediate crude oil highert by 0.8 percent at $57.33 a barrel.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

In Europe, Germany's DAX paced the decline with a loss of 0.5 percent.

In Asian markets on Wednesday, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.4 percent and Tokyo's Nikkei sank 0.9 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 2 percent.

FOX Business' Ken Martin and The Associated Press contributed to this article.