Stocks eked out modest gains Wednesday, keeping the major stock indexes on Wall Street at or near record highs. The S&P 500 inched up by 0.1 percent, recovering some of its losses from a day earlier. Roughly 73 percent of stocks in the S&P 500 rose. Small-company stocks again outpaced their larger rivals, a sign that investors are feeling more optimistic about the economy. Ahead of the final day of trading in 2020, the S&P 500 is up by 15.5 percent this year, while the Nasdaq is up by 43.4 percent.

Source: The Standard December 30, 2020 23:58 UTC