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The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at new highs on Wednesday, as an upbeat report on the labor market, and results that left Republicans with a Senate majority, lifted stocks.
S&P 500 SPX, +0.57% gained 11.46 points, or 0.6%, to 2,023.56, with utilities and energy sector stocks leading the gain.
The U.S. dollar rose to a fresh seven-year high against the yen Wednesday, and rallied against most of its G-10 rivals, as investors rushed to buy the dollar, believing that Republican rule in Congress could translate to improved economic growth in the U.S.
The dollar USDJPY, -0.31% traded at 114.68 yen Wednesday morning, off its high of ¥114.8340. It traded at ¥113.69 Tuesday afternoon.
Large gains against the euro pushed the ICE U.S. Dollar Index to a fresh four-year high. The index DXY, -0.24% , a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.64% to 87.5340. The euro EURUSD, +0.32% traded at $1.2467 early Wednesday, its lowest level since August 2012, compared to $1.2548 Tuesday.
The pound GBPUSD, +0.09% fell to its lowest point against the greenback in a year, falling as low as $1.5869 Wednesday morning before recovering slightly. It last traded at $1.5933, compared to $1.6000 Tuesday.
December natural gas NGZ14, +0.45% rose 6.50 cents, or 1.6%, to end at $4.1940 per million British thermal units. Natural gas is up for seven straight sessions, buoyed by expectations of cooler-than-normal temperatures in key U.S. markets for heating.
Nymex gasoline or December delivery RBZ4, +0.48% gained less than one cent, or 0.4%, to settle at $2.0867 a gallon.
December heating oil HOZ4, +0.20% however, lost less than a penny, or 0.2%, to finish at $2.4387 a gallon, extending its losing streak to a third session.The settlement was also heating oil’s lowest since Dec. 1, 2010.
December silver SIZ4, -0.58% stumbled 51 cents, or 3.2%, to $15.44 an ounce. It had earlier traded at $15.40 per troy ounce level, its cheapest since February 2010, said a Commerzbank analyst.
