Stocks end mixed as technology shares outperform; Nasdaq gains 0.3% to set record high.
Stocks were mixed on Wednesday, with the major equity indexes beginning September trading near all-time highs. Technology stocks outperformed, and the Nasdaq jumped to a fresh record level.
The S&P 500 and Dow each ended little changed. U.S. crude oil prices dipped to hover around $68 per barrel following an OPEC meeting wherein members increased output by the expected 400,000 barrels per day each month through December to help meet rising energy demand.
The S&P 500 closed out a seventh straight monthly gain in August, rising nearly 3% during the month as strong earnings growth, an ongoing economic recovery and a still-accommodative Federal Reserve helped offset fresh concerns over the Delta variant's spread. Still, the Nasdaq outperformed with a monthly rise of 4%, with investors piling back into technology and growth stocks seen as benefiting from stay-in-place behavior.