Still, analysts said most earnings have bested expectations.
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The technology index rose 1.05 per cent, leading the three gainers among the 10 major S&P sectors.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Wednesday was Microsoft Corp.
Second-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies, which began reporting in earnest this week, are now expected to fall by 3.8 percent, less than the 4.5 percent decline estimated earlier in the week, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
HIT THE BRAKES: Shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla skidded after investors weren’t impressed with CEO Elon Musk’s “master plan” for the company, which was posted on Tesla’s website late Wednesday.
But fellow chipmaker Qualcomm was the biggest positive influence on the S&P and Nasdaq, rising 7.9 percent after its quarterly results and forecast topped market estimates.
ANALYST QUOTE: “Global stocks have enjoyed an extended period of gains which have been fuelled by optimism over central banks intervening to quell the financial turmoil”, said Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM.
Even with the economic concerns triggered by Britain’s recent vote, the S&P 500 and Dow have hit record highs in the past week.
“If you see a lot of disappointment and disappointing outlooks, or confusion over Brexit and what that’s going to mean to some companies, you could see the market pull in and take some profits“, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in NY. Gold for August delivery is now sliding $13.70 to $1,318.60 an ounce. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its, is up by 3.4 basis points at 1.592 percent.
The VIX, an index that measures investors’ expectations of future volatility in the stock market, fell 3.6 percent and is close to its lowest level since 2014. The index has closed at a new record on each the last six trading days. On the Nasdaq, 1,559 issues fell and 1,155 advanced. The S&P 500 was down for the entire day but never by more than 0.4%. The stock closed up over 5 percent to $55.91.
Much of that demand likely came from investors seeking alternatives to bonds, which are paying only small amounts of interest.
After trending higher in recent sessions, stocks are turning in a relatively lackluster performance in early trading on Thursday. Brent crude rose 56 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $47.22 in London. The Nasdaq, however, was the big gainer on the day, adding better than 1 percent.
The stock market has been on a mostly upward swing since February, notwithstanding a few setbacks, after shrugging off worries about fragile economies overseas, weaker profits at home and sundry other challenges. Germany’s DAX rose 1.5 percent after Volkswagen reported earnings that were better than analysts were expecting. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.3 percent to 16,681.89, while South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.1 percent to 2,015.46.
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CURRENCIES: The euro fell to $1.1004 from $1.1015 late Tuesday, and the British pound rose to $1.3162 from $1.3093.
