Stock Market Posts Second-Best First Half In 23 Years””With S&P 500 Hitting New High

Stock Market Posts Second-Best First Half In 23 Years””With S&P 500 Hitting New High

Share to Linkedin Stocks ticked up around the world Wednesday, ending the first half of the year with the S&P 500's fifth-straight day of record highs as technology companies continue to post impressive gains while industries hard hit by the pandemic stage eye-popping recoveries. A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Climbing 0. 1% Wednesday, the S&P has jumped 16% this year"”faring much better than the index's 7% decline during last year's first six months and pulling off the second-best first-half performance since 1998, behind only 2019's 17% gain. After crashing last year, energy stocks continue to head up the index's gains, with top-performer Marathon Oil up nearly 100%, while Diamondback Energy, Occidental Petroleum and Nucor have all jumped at least 78%; 6 of the S&P's top 10 stocks this year are in the energy sector. The financial sector is the year's second-best performing in the S&P (up 24%), while real estate and communication services follow closely behind"”climbing 23% and 19%, respectively. Despite recently underperforming, the Dow Jones Industrial Average also edged higher Wednesday, jumping 200 points, or 0. 6%, to close at 34, 502"”less than 1% shy of an early May high and up