S&P 500, Nasdaq post most consecutive records of 2020

Stocks climbed to record highs Wednesday as investors sifted through positive news on the U.S. economy, a number of corporate earnings reports and two high-profile forthcoming stock splits.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
SP500	S&P 500	5222.68	+8.60	+0.16%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	16340.868593	-5.40	-0.03%

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite notched records, rising 1.02% and 1.73%, respectively, on the way to their longest streak of all-time highs this year. The S&P has finished in record territory the past four sessions while the Nasdaq extended its record run to five days.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	39512.84	+125.08	+0.32%
XOM	EXXON MOBIL CORP.	117.95	-0.52	-0.43%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, rose 0.30%, or 84 points, despite losses from Exxon Mobil, which is set to be removed from the index on Monday.

Positive economic data helped drive the broader gains as durable goods orders jumped 11.2% month-over-month in July, outpacing the 4.3% increase that analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting. Durable goods excluding transportation, a category where big-ticket items can skew data, rose 2.4%, also topping estimates.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
AAPL	APPLE INC.	183.05	-1.27	-0.69%
TSLA	TESLA INC.	168.47	-3.50	-2.04%

Looking at stocks, Apple Inc. shares received a $600 price target, up from $515, at Wedbush Securities, due to the upcoming supercycle that will see 350 million iPhones become eligible for an upgrade to the iPhone 12.

The tech giant's stock split will take place on August 31 along with Tesla, whose market topped $400 billion Wednesday, making the company as valuable as drug giant Johnson & Johnson.

In retail news, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. will eliminate a total of 2,800 corporate and retail jobs as part of a restructuring plan that will generate annual pre-tax savings of $150 million.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
BBY	BEST BUY CO. INC.	74.17	+0.01	+0.01%
JWN	NORDSTROM INC.	20.58	+0.29	+1.43%
DKS	DICK'S SPORTING GOODS INC.	196.05	-2.02	-1.02%

Nordstrom Inc.'s digital sales slid 5% from a year ago as the department store pushed back its Anniversary Sale from the second to the third quarter. Both earnings and revenue fell short of expectations.

And Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. posted record earnings and sales as customers splurged on home-fitness products amid the pandemic. The sporting goods retailer said digital sales were up 194% from last year.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
CRM	SALESFORCE INC.	276.70	+1.48	+0.54%
TOL	TOLL BROTHERS INC.	127.02	+0.54	+0.43%

In other earnings, Salesforce.com Inc. reported record sales and raised its full-year outlook as the work-from-home environment caused by COVID-19 boosted demand for cloud-computing services. The business-software provider will be a member of the blue-chip Dow beginning on Monday.

Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. said signed contracts soared 26% to a quarterly record of 2,833 units as low-interest rates and an undersupply of homes provided a boost.

As for commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 4 cents to $43.39 per barrel as Hurricane Laura strengthened ahead of its expected Thursday morning landfall on the Texas-Louisiana border. Gold, meanwhile, surged $28.90 to $1,940.70 an ounce, snapping a two-session losing streak.

U.S. Treasurys were under modest selling pressure, causing the yield on the 10-year note to climb to 0.686%.

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In Europe, France's CAC rose 0.8% while Germany's DAX added 0.98% and Britain's FTSE gained 0.14%.

Asian markets finished mixed, with China’s Shanghai Composite sliding 1.3%, Japan’s Nikkei slipping 0.03% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edging up 0.02%.