UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc

By Lauren Almeida and Michael Wursthorn 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a fourth straight session, pushing the blue-chip index above its record closing level in intraday trading Wednesday.

The Dow industrials gained 92 points, or 0.3%, ahead of its early close Wednesday before Thursday's Independence Day holiday. The index surpassed its Oct. 3 milestone soon after the opening bell and would be the last of the major U.S. benchmarks to hit a record this year. Shares of UnitedHealth Group and Home Depot led the 30-stock index higher, as investors continued their steady buying of stocks this week.

Indexes have been climbing, albeit slowly, since last weekend's truce between the U.S. and China eased investors' fears of an all-out trade war between the world's two biggest economies. But the cease-fire only put additional tariffs on hold indefinitely, leaving investors concerned that lingering frictions could give way to another flare-up in trade tensions and market volatility.

Eyes now turn to the Federal Reserve and whether it will cut interest rates this year -- a move that would support further stock gains, analysts said.

Investors largely expect the central bank to slash rates at one of its coming meetings, according to CME Group data. Weakening economic figures, including slowing U.S. factory activity and a pullback in hiring activity, help support such a move, as do trade tensions, analysts said. Although it remains unclear if the trade truce will affect the Fed's decision, money managers say the June jobs report, due Friday after the July 4 holiday, will also factor into the central bank's thinking.

"With the modestly positive agreement to restart trade negotiations between the U.S. and China, the bullish narrative now pivots to the Fed meeting at the end of July, when it is overwhelmingly expected to lower the overnight rate by a quarter point," said Ameriprise Chief Market Strategist David Joy.

On Wednesday, shares of UnitedHealth Group led the Dow industrials higher, followed by Home Depot and Procter & Gamble to help lift the index above its Oct. 3 record of 26828.39. The Dow also previously topped its record closing level in intraday trading last month and again Monday but fell back below the record before markets closed.

The S&P 500 also edged higher, adding 0.5% Wednesday as all 11 major sectors notched gains. The Nasdaq Composite also rose, adding 0.6%.

Shares of Symantec led the S&P 500 higher, adding 15% after the company landed takeover interest from Broadcom, which declined 2.4% in recent trading. Real-estate stocks, meanwhile, notched the biggest gains, rising 1.2%, while shares of utilities and consumer staples both rose 0.9% each.

Tesla rose 5.5% after the car maker said Tuesday it had delivered a record 95,200 vehicles in its latest quarter.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 added 0.8%, as shares of travel companies and food and beverage firms pushed the pan-European benchmark higher.

Asian stock markets, meanwhile, fell, with South Korea leading losses as the Kospi slipped 1.2% after the country lowered growth and inflation forecasts. Chinese stocks also declined, as the Shanghai Composite and the Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.9% and 0.1%, respectively.

Write to Michael Wursthorn at Michael.Wursthorn@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 03, 2019 11:30 ET (15:30 GMT)

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