U.S. equities and stock exchange traded funds climbed Wednesday on optimism over quarterly earnings, with the healthcare and technology sectors bolstering broad market gains.
The S&P 500 Index, along with related funds including the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY), iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV) and Vanguard 500 Index (NYSEARCA:VOO), were 0.5% higher.
Healthcare companies in the S&P 500 were among the best performers, rising 0.7% Wednesday. Meanwhile, tech companies in the S&P 500 gained 0.6%.
Crit Thomas, global market strategist at Touchstone Investments, argued that the healthcare sector seems to have brushed off the recent failure of Senate Republicans in replacing the Affordable Care Act, or so-called Obamacare, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Market observers also gauged the health-care bill’s progress as a litmus test for the likelihood of Congress passing corporate-friendly, pro-growth policies later in the year.