Wall Street Hits Record High After Report on Economy

Wall Street closed at another record on Tuesday following a surprisingly strong report on economic growth over the summer.

• The S&P 500 rose 31.30 points, or 0.5%, to 6,909.79, surpassing the record it set earlier this month.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79.73 points, or 0.2%, to 48,442.41.
• The Nasdaq composite rose 133.02 points, or 0.6%, to 23,561.84

Novo Nordisk jumped 7.2% after US regulators approved a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity, the AP reports.

The latest record for the S&P 500 came even as most stocks within the benchmark index lost ground. Technology stocks, which have been main force pushing major indexes to records all year, once again were able to counter weakness elsewhere in the market. Nvidia jumped 3% and was biggest force helping to push the market higher. It is among several big tech companies with outsized valuations that tend to have more impact on the broader market's direction. Google's parent company, Alphabet, rose 1.5%.

Wall Street is getting the latest economic updates during an otherwise quiet holiday-shortened week. Markets in the US will close early Wednesday for Christmas Eve and remain closed for Christmas on Thursday. The US economy grew at a 4.3% annual rate during the third quarter. That builds on 3.8% growth during the second quarter and marks a sharp turnaround from the first quarter, when the economy shrank for the first time in three years. The latest report also showed that stubborn inflation continues to hover over the economy. The Federal Reserve's favored inflation gauge—called the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE—climbed to a 2.8% annual pace last quarter, up from 2.1% in the second quarter.

On Wednesday, the Labor Department will release its weekly data on applications for jobless benefits, which stands as a proxy for US layoffs. "The Fed has been balancing off inflation risks versus weakening labor markets and today's report further complicates their dilemma," wrote Dominic Pappalardo, chief multi-asset strategist at Morningstar Wealth, in a note to investors. Wall Street expects the Fed to hold rates steady at its upcoming meeting in January.