The Dow finished barely positive Wednesday on its 125th birthday but the broader market clinched modest gains, powered by a rise in energy and consumer discretionary as investors appeared to grow assured that the Federal Reserve wouldn't react to rising inflation by rapidly withdrawing easy-money policies. Against the backdrop, the Russell 2000 index
RUT,
+1.97%
closed up around 2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.03%
gained less than 0.1%, while the S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.19%
edged 0.2% higher at 4,196. The Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
+0.59%
closed up 0.6% to reach around 13,738. Shares of Ford Motor Co.
F,
+8.51%
shot up 8.5% after the vehicle maker said it planned to spend $30 billion on vehicle electrification by 2025, up from a previously stated goal of $22 billion in EV spending. Meanwhile, Senate lawmakers grilled the heads of banking giants JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPM,
-0.01%,
Citigroup Inc.
C,
+0.31%
Morgan Stanley
MS,
+0.55%,
Bank of America Corp.
BAC,
+0.07%,
Wells Fargo & Co.
WFC,
+0.67%
and Goldman Sachs
GS,
+0.79%.
In other corporate news, shares of Amazon
AMZN,
+0.19%
finished up 0.2% after its announcement to by MGM.