Dow Jones, S&P 500 rise to new records; tech stocks drag Nasdaq down

Dec. 29 (UPI) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both hit new records Wednesday as investors hope to end the year strong.

The blue-chip Dow gained for the sixth straight day closing up 90.42 points, or 0.25%, to rise to a record 36,488.63, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.14% to eke out its 70th record close of the year at 4,793.06. The Nasdaq Composite, however, fell 0.098%, amid a broader decline in tech stocks.

So far in 2021 the S&P 500 has closed at a record 28% of the time, notching its second-highest number of record closes after 77 closing highs in 1995.

"The seasonals favor further gains in the market. The trading is a little thinner than it would otherwise be," Gary Schlossberg of Wells Fargo Investment Institute said. "We're coming off what seems to have been a good holiday season and I think that inspired some confidence."

Walgreens, Nike and Home Depot all rose more than 1% on Wednesday to lead the gains for the Dow.

Conversely, technology stocks fell after the U.S. 10-year treasury yield rose above 1.5%, with AMD stock falling 3.19%.

Tesla stock also dipped 0.21% after dipping by as much as 2.2% earlier in the day after CEO Elon Musk sold another $1 billion in company stock.

Travel stocks also continued their rollercoaster week, declining after Tuesday's gains with American Airlines stock falling 2.64% and United Airlines declining 1.86%. Norwegian Cruise Line stock also fell 1.51% and Carnival dropped 0.53%.