01:17 PM EST, 12/04/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Broad Market Indicators

Broad-market exchange-traded fund IWM and IVV advanced. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 1%.

US stock indexes were higher after midday on Wednesday amid gains in the technology sector, while investors awaited remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at an event on Wednesday.

Energy

iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) fell 2.4%, while Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) slumped 2.6%.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) was up 1.6%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) climbed 1.8% and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 1.7%.

SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) was 0.9% higher, while iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) added 1.5%.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) dropped 0.5%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) shed 1.8%, and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) gained 1.8%.

Commodities

Crude oil was down 0.7%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) lost 1.7%. Natural gas rose 0.5%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) dipped 0.2%.

Gold was 0.3% firmer on Comex, and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) rose 0.4%. Silver gained 1.5%, while iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was up 1.1%.

Consumer

Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) edged down 0.5%; Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) were also lower.

Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) edged up 0.4%; retail fund VanEck Vectors Retail ETF (RTH) and SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) were also higher.

Health Care

Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) added 0.2% and iShares US Healthcare (IYH) advanced 0.3%. Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) was up 0.4%, while iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 0.7%.

Industrial

Select Sector SPDR-Industrial (XLI) edged up 0.1%. Vanguard Industrials (VIS) rose 0.1%, while iShares US Industrials (IYJ) was fractionally lower.