Wall Street’s record-breaking rally kept going Wednesday after weak reports on the U.S. economy kept the door open for possible cuts to interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to set an all-time high for a second straight day and for the 33rd time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 23 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.9% to its record set the day before. Trading ended early for the day ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 4.35% from 4.44% late Tuesday, a notable move for the bond market, and much of the slide came after the report on U.S. services businesses. It’s been generally sinking since April on hopes that inflation is slowing enough to get the Federal Reserve to lower its main interest rate from the highest level in more than two decades. Wednesday's move erased some of a recent recovery for yields.