The stock market keeps rising

U.S. stocks continue their surge, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq all finishing the day higher on Wednesday, as seemingly every sector of the market has rallied since the start of the third quarter.

What it means: The "buy anything" rally continues as reopening and stay-at-home stocks both remain bid and every sector of the S&P has seen a sizable jump since the quarter began on July 1.

Between the lines: U.S. economic data has been mixed in recent days, as private payroll processor ADP's jobs report missed expectations by more than 500,000 jobs and the Fed's Beige Book found the economic recovery slowed in August and “Continued uncertainty and volatility related to the pandemic, and its negative effect on consumer and business activity, was a theme echoed across the country.”

The state of play: The S&P 500 hit a new record high and rose by the most in nearly two months, closing higher for the ninth time in the past 10 sessions.

• Defensive and value stocks led the gains, catching up after tech stocks boomed on Tuesday.
• The Russell 1000 Value Index rose 1.7% and utilities and financial stocks — two of the three worst-performing sectors in 2020 — each rose nearly 1.4%.

The big picture: The Nasdaq has risen by 18.7% in just the third quarter. The S&P and Dow are trailing closely behind, having gained 15% and 13%, respectively, since July 1.

• September has built on August's impressive numbers, when the S&P rose by more than 7%, for the best August since 1986, the Dow had its best August since 1984, and the Nasdaq recorded its strongest August since 2000.