The New York Stock Exchange's broad S&P 500 index rose 0.5 percent on Wednesday and thereby reached a new historic record level. But the stock exchange's leading indexes went in different directions and the Dow Jones industrial index fell 0.1 percent. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.9 percent.
Heavy weights were the increases in Tesla and Nvidia. The electric car manufacturer, which on Tuesday reported a smaller decline in sales than analysts had feared, rose for the third day in a row, now by 6.5 percent. The chip manufacturer's share rose 4.6 percent and has climbed over 166 percent this year.
Wall Street closed at lunchtime since Americans are celebrating Independence Day, Fourth of July, on Thursday.