WASHINGTON: The three major US equities indices all hit new record closing highs for the third day in a row on Wednesday, on the back of data pointing to a sharp pickup in growth in the domestic services sector. The S&P 500 had its seventh day of gains in a row, finishing the day up 0.1 per cent to 2,537.19. Utilities, consumer cyclicals and healthcare pushed higher while energy and tech stocks sank to the bottom of the benchmark index.
Buoyed by the health sector, the Nasdaq Composite also posted an 0.05 per cent increase to 6,534.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09 per cent to 22,661.6, as strong performances by Nike and Caterpillar balanced out losses from General Electric, JPMorgan and Apple. The dollar index remained softer, down 0.13 per cent on the day against a basket of peers at 93.46 according to Thomson Reuters data. And oil prices were sapped by data showing that US crude exports had hit a record level last week, with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate, the US standard, falling 1.1 per cent to $49.86, and Brent, the international benchmark, declining 0.46 p[er cent to $55.73.
