01:16 PM EDT, 07/10/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US stocks advanced for the seventh day in a row on Wednesday, lifting the S&P 500 above 5,600 for the first time ever.

In addition to a 0.7% gain for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently was up 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite index was rising 0.9%.

Most industry sectors were higher, led by the shares of materials and technology each adding nearly 1.2%. Financial and real estate stocks were the only decliners, each slipping 0.1%, after the Mortgage Bankers Association Wednesday said home loan application slid 0.2% last week despite a drop in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate.

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also was back on Capitol Hill Wednesday for the second of two days of remarks to members of Congress. During his appearance Tuesday before the US Senate Banking Committee, he suggested recent data for inflation supports the central bank soon starting to cut interest rates, although he cautioned it would be a "meeting by meeting" decision.

Crude oil was higher, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude rising 0.7% and 1%, respectively. Prices were supported by the weekly inventory report by the US Energy Information Administration showing crude oil supplies declined by 3 million barrels during the seven days ended July 5.

The US 10-year Treasury yield edged 1.3 basis points lower to 4.29%. The two-year rate fell 0.6 basis points to 4.62%.

The US Dollar Index was down 0.1% to 105.04.

Gold was up 0.7% to $2,385 per ounce, earlier stopping short of a climb past $2,400. Silver climbed 0.4% to $31.19 per ounce.