US Major Indexes Hit Record Highs; GE Hits 52-Week High; Casino Stocks Back in Play

The major U.S. stock indexes continued to post record highs on Wednesday as investors shrugged off concerns over how the coronavirus would impact corporate profits and the global economy. The Dow posted a record close, led by solid gains from United Health and Nike. Apple also recovered from weakness earlier in the week to finish up 2.4%. The blue chip average is now up 4.5% month-to-date.

In the cash market on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P 500 Index settled at 3379.45, up 21.70 or +0.66%. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 29551.42, up 275.88 or +0.95% and the technology-based NASDAQ Composite closed at 9725.96, up 87.02 or +0.95%.

30 S&P 500 Components Hit All-Time Highs

Shares of UnitedHealth, Illinois Tool Works and PepsiCo were among the roughly 30 S&P 500 components to hit all-time highs on Wednesday, leading the broad index to record levels. Moody’s Ingersoll-Rand and SBA Communications also reached all-time highs.

General Electric Hits Highest Level in Over a Year

General Electric (GE) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading, climbing as high as $13.19 on a nearly 3% gain. The stock is at its highest level since July 2018 and has climbed steadily this year, up over 18% since the year began.

Beat Up Casino Stocks in Focus – Bank of America Issues Buy Signal

Shares of Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands popped 3.2% and 2.2%, respectively, in premarket trading on Wednesday after Bank of America upgraded the casino stocks to buy from neutral. The firm said the casino companies, which have been hit from heightened fear about the Chinese coronavirus, will rebound as the number of virus cases meaningfully decline.

This is a reversal for Bank of America, which last month downgraded Wynn Resorts due to fear about the virus. The firm said the next catalyst for the stocks will be the reopening of casinos in Macao, which government officials close for 15 days.

Sentiment Readings Bouncing Back

The percentage of bullish investors has bounced back to where it was before the coronavirus outbreak rattled the market, Peter Boockvar of Bleakley Advisory Group said in a note. Boockvar was citing from Investors Intelligence. “Bottom line, after seeing extreme bull readings in a variety of metrics literally days before the virus outbreak, the pullback in stocks rung some of that optimism out but it’s coming back rather quickly. Buy on the dip remains firmly embedded in the mentality of the investor as we know,” Boockvar wrote.