Wall Street closes higher with new records

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) – Wall Street closed Wednesday at new record levels after stocks at technology companies surged and oil prices moved into positive territory.

The Dow Jones rose 36 points to end the day at 18,595 points. The S&P 500 was up nine points to close at 2,173 and the Nasdaq increased 53 points to finish at 5,089.

While the Dow closed higher for the ninth day in a row, it was the seventh consecutive day the index finished at an all-time high. The S&P also posted a new record close, while the Nasdaq erased all its losses for 2016 and closed at its highest level for this year.

Microsoft stocks jumped 5.5 percent, while Yahoo shares climbed 2 percent.

Oil prices also moved higher after the U.S.'s weekly crude oil inventories declined more than market expectations.

At the final bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $45.56 a barrel -- a 0.4 percent increase, and international benchmark Brent crude was up 0.9 percent to $47.13.