On Wednesday, the S&P 500 reached a new record high as investors weighed President Trump’s latest tariff moves and reviewed the Federal Reserve’s minutes for insights into future policy. The benchmark index rose about 0.2% to hit 6,144.15. The Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average both gained approximately 0.1%.
The Fed’s minutes showed most officials supported keeping policy at restrictive levels due to concerns about persistent inflation.
Stock Market Feb 20 Highlights: Sensex down 203 pts, Nifty below 23k; M&M, NTPC gain; Maruti, HDFC Bank top losers | ET NOW Closing Bell#StockMarket #Sensex #Nifty https://t.co/k5IWhTL0U4
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) February 20, 2025
The minutes stated, “Many participants noted that the Committee could hold the policy rate at a restrictive level if the economy remained strong and inflation remained elevated, while several remarked that policy could be eased if labor market conditions deteriorated, economic activity faltered, or inflation returned to 2 percent more quickly than anticipated.
?#Nifty closes around flat for 3rd session; #NiftyBank closes in red within previous session’s range
Here's how the markets panned out today!?#stockmarketsindia #StockMarket #StockMarketIndia #stockmarketnews #stockmarketupdates pic.twitter.com/igsQpmEgre
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) February 20, 2025
President Trump announced a flat tariff “in the neighborhood of 25%” on foreign automakers, set to begin on April 2. This follows global tariffs announced last week, including 25% on Mexico and Canada, and 10% duties already implemented on China.
Crazy stat, but the S&P 500 is up 81.0% since right before the COVID bear market started.
That comes up to an annualized return of 12.6% over the past four years!
A 100-year pandemic and a vicious 25% bear market in 2022, yet investors were rewarded at a 12.6% clip. Wow.
— Ryan Detrick, CMT (@RyanDetrick) February 19, 2025
Short sellers have struggled in early 2025, losing $73 billion between US and Canadian markets, according to S3 Partners. The S&P 500 has risen about 4% this year, with some companies soaring higher due to short squeezes.
And with that we have the 2nd all-time high of 2025 for the S&P 500.
Since 1957 (when it become 500 stocks) this is 1,243 ATHs out of 17,176 trading days.
In other words, a new ATH happens about once every 3 wks.
New highs happen, congrats to the investors who remembered. pic.twitter.com/D30va9bi5Y
— Ryan Detrick, CMT (@RyanDetrick) February 18, 2025
Spurred by tariff news
Super Micro Computer, the top performer in the index, is up more than 110% since the start of the year. Intel stock fell over 5% on Wednesday following reports of potential deals with TSMC and Broadcom to break up the company. Shares had surged 16% on Tuesday, but analysts expressed skepticism about the possible breakup.
JPMorgan strategist Antonin Delair noted that mentions of the stock market have mostly “disappeared” from President Trump’s social media posts during his second term, compared to his first term when he frequently cited strong stock market performance. The market closed on a high note, with investors monitoring economic indicators and policy changes closely.
