The S&P 500 advanced Wednesday for a four-day winning streak, as investors assess new U.S. economic data.

The broad-market index climbed 0.38%, surpassing the 4,500 level, to close at 4,514.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 37.57 points or 0.11%, to finish the session at 34,890.24. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.54% to 14,019.31. The S&P's four-day gain helped the index trim month-to-date losses to roughly 1.6%.

The S&P 500 tech sector rose, aided by a nearly 1% jump in chipmaker Nvidia. Shares of Apple climbed almost 2%, a day after the company sent out invites for a Sept. 12 launch event where the iPhone 15 is expected to be unveiled.

Wednesday's moves come as traders pore over disappointing payrolls data. ADP said private employers added 177,000 jobs in August. That's well below a revised July number of 371,000. It also missed a Dow Jones estimate of 200,000.

Meanwhile, annual gross domestic product growth was downwardly revised on Wednesday to 2.1% from the previous 2.4% forecast.

This is the second day investors have appeared to treat weaker-than-expected economic data as good news for stocks.

"Traders and investors alike want to see 'follow through' in today's market action, helping to confirm that the uptick in market performance is a more viable move as the market heads into September," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial.

On Tuesday, the major U.S. stock benchmarks rallied following the release of disappointing consumer confidence figures and a bigger-than-forecast drop in U.S. job openings for July. This sparked hope among traders that the Federal Reserve could lighten its policy stance sometime soon.

Stocks close higher, S&P 500 notches fourth-straight winning session

Stocks closed higher on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 earned a fourth-consecutive positive session.

The key index climbed 0.38% to close at 4,514.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 37.57 points or 0.11%, to finish the session at 34,890.24, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.54% to 14,019.31.

— Brian Evans

4-day rally in S&P 500 pares month-to-date loss to -1.6% from -5.5%

The latest, four-day boomlet in U.S. stocks has pared August's decline in the S&P 500 to just 1.6% now — from a loss of -5.53% as recently as the intraday low on August 18 when the benchmark index touched its low for the month at 4335. 31.

The S&P 500 has climbed as much as 3.32% over the past four trading sessions, using Wednesday's high water mark of 4,521.65.

Of the S&P's 11 major sectors, only energy (+1.1%) and health care (+0.5%) are higher in August. As yields have backed up this month, utilities are the worst-performing group, slumping -6%.

— Scott Schnipper

APA, Marathon Petroleum lead S&P 500 energy names in August

The S&P 500's energy sector is on pace to end the month out on top, thanks in part to rallies in APA and Marathon Petroleum.

The sector has gained 1.1% this month. Health care is the only other of the broad index's 11 sectors on pace for wins in August, up 0.6%. Meanwhile, the index as a whole is poised to finish August 1.6% lower.

APA and Marathon Petroleum have helped the energy sector edge higher with gains of 8.2% and 7.9%, respectively. Devon Energy and EOG Resources restricted gains for the sector, with the stocks down around 6% and 3.6%, respectively.

Energy is also the best performing sector within the S&P 500 quarter to date.

— Alex Harring

Texas Instruments falls 1%

Shares of the chipmaker lost 1% after Bernstein downgraded shares to underperform from market perform. Analyst Stacy Rasgon noted concerns about the company's long-term strategy.

"We wish we could all have a 15-year investment horizon," Rasgon said in a Wednesday note. "We have the utmost respect for Texas Instruments, who has been vocal, and 100% transparent, about their capex and inventory plans going forward as they structurally raise spending to build out capacity to support revenue growth over the next 10-15 years."

"However, Street models still do not appear to contemplate the consequences of TXN's plans, and gross margin expectations appear far too high to us," he added.

To read more about his downgrade, click here.

— Hakyung Kim

Guggenheim maintains sell rating on Tesla shares

Tesla is beginning to climb back after a difficult August, with shares jumping more than 7% this week. Despite the recent rally, Guggenheim remains bearish on the stock. 

"U.S. inventory trends suggest supply is running ahead of demand," analyst Ronald Jewsikow said in a Wednesday note.

"While summer production shutdowns may limit the near-term need for pricing cuts (magnitude of downtime remains unclear), we believe QTD US inventory is a clear sign that at current run rate supply, US demand is trailing production output." 

Jewsikov maintained his sell rating on the stock.

More about the call can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

What analysts expect from Apple's September event

Wall Street analysts are bracing for a majorly revamped iPhone when Apple holds it annual September launch event.

Among the major upgrades, Citi analyst Atif Malik anticipates a new chip for Pro models, an upgraded camera, enhanced storage and memory, and the transition to a USB-C port.

Along with these cosmetic changes, analysts are also bracing for potential price hikes, with Malik expecting a $100 to $200 increase for Pro models.

Pricing should remain a key focus for investors, and could weigh on the 10% year over year unit growth expected in the 2024 fiscal year, according to Bank of America's Wamsi Mohan. He models 216 million iPhones in the 2023 fiscal year, reflecting an 11% yearly decline.

Analysts also expect a potential new Apple Watch announcement coming out of the event.

— Samantha Subin

Blackstone could join S&P 500 at next rebalance

The upcoming rebalance of the S&P 500 could see an alternative asset manager added to the index for the first time, according to Bank of America.

Analyst Craig Siegenthaler said in a note to clients on Wednesday that Blackstone seems likely to added to the index in its next rebalance. The announcement of quarterly changes is expected on Friday.

Blackstone has a market cap of more than $120 billion, making it much bigger than many of the stocks currently in the index. S&P Dow Jones recently changed some of the index rules around companies with multiple share classes, which could make Blackstone now eligible for inclusion.

Shares of Blackstone are up more than 40% year to date.

"Excluding BX from the S&P 500 has hurt the index's performance as the Alts have been the best performing financial services industry over the last 5 years, and BX also yields a dividend that is ~2x the average S&P 500 company," Siegenthaler said in the note to clients.

— Jesse Pound

Lyft shares jump 5% after insider buying

Ride-sharing company Lyft saw shares jump 5% on Wednesday, bringing its weekly gain to over 10% The rally came after a new regulatory filing disclosed that director Prashant Aggarwal bought nearly 100,000 shares.

The stock is only up about 2% this year, however, as its rival Uber continued to lead in the North American ride-share market. Lyft said earlier this month that it's doubling down on competitive pricing to catch up with Uber.

— Yun Li

KeyBanc says it expects Salesforce to outperform in near-term

Keybanc analyst Michael Turits reiterated his overweight rating and maintained his $256 price target on Salesforce, which is set to report after market close.  

"We continue to see long-term drivers for Salesforce as the market share leader in front office digital transformation with opportunity to benefit from AI given the scope of the company's application portfolio and customer data," Turits wrote in a Tuesday note. "Near term, we expect outperformance in a more cautious investing environment to be driven by expanding margins and attractive valuation."

The analyst expects the company's second-quarter earnings to come out roughly in-line with expectations, and a potential modest EBIT raise for fiscal year 2024, according to the note. The stock is up 0.9% on Wednesday, after skyrocketing 61% so far this year.

— Pia Singh

Stocks making the biggest moves midday

These are the stocks making the biggest midday moves:

• HP — HP dropped 7% in midday trading after reporting a fiscal third-quarter revenue miss. 
• Box — The cloud storage stock tumbled nearly 9% a day after delivering weak guidance for the current quarter. 
• Ambarella — The semiconductor stock sank 17% on weak third-quarter guidance. 

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring

Growth could outperform value over the next month, Credit Suisse' technical analyst says

Growth stocks could outpace value stocks over the next month, according to Credit Suisse.

"US Growth maintains the break higher from its recent range relative to Value and the completion of a bullish continuation pattern," technical analyst David Sneddon said in a Wednesday note. "This is seen to reinforce the existing large base and we maintain our view for Growth to continue to outperform Value over the next 2 to 4 weeks…"

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 close out a third straight day of gains as investors bought into tech stocks after their recent pullback. On Wednesday, the broader index attempted to extend those gains.

"The S&P 500 has held its uptrend from March and negated its recent bearish 'reversal day', but with a break above 4503 seen needed to maintain an immediate positive tone," Sneddon wrote.

— Sarah Min, Michael Bloom

Silver moves positive on month

Silver's price turned positive on the month in Wednesday's session.

Silver is now up about 1.8% month to date. if that holds, it would mark its second straight winning month.

The metal hit a high of $25.04 in Wednesday's session. That's its highest since July 27, when it reached $25.325.

The Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) was up more than 1% in Wednesday's session, helped by gains in stocks including Hecla and Coeur. If that advance remains through the close, it would mark the fund's third straight winning session. Despite the gain, the fund is still down more than 2% month to date.

— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla

August pullback was more due to 'buyer's strike,' Barclays says

August was a dismal month for stocks, but Barclays expects that could be due to a lack of buying by traders rather than reducing exposure to risk.

"The August pull-back was more due to buyers' strike than a broad de-risking," Barclays' Emmanuel Cau wrote Wednesday.

"Sentiment and technicals retreated from stretched July levels amid low summer volumes. Although active managers' exposure is back down to average, market downside and erratic price action were more due to a lack of buyers than a broad de-risking," Cau added.

Additionally, he said a pivot into cash, bonds and other defensives could suggest caution ahead.

— Sarah Min, Michael Bloom

Stocks open slightly higher

Stocks opened higher on Wednesday, with investors aiming to add to three consecutive winning sessions for major indexes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 67 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both gained 0.2%.

— Brian Evans

Second-quarter gross domestic product growth revised down

Economic growth expanded at a 2.1% annual clip in the second-quarter, the government said Wednesday, which is a slight downward revision from the preliminary 2.4% estimate.

Other revisions also include personal consumption, which ticked up slightly to 1.7%.

— Brian Evans

ADP report shows slower-than-expected job growth

The ADP private payrolls report showed slower-than-expected job growth in August.

Private employers added 177,000 jobs in August, according to ADP, well below the revised total of 371,000 jobs added in July. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting 200,000 jobs added in August.

The firm also said that pay growth slowed for workers who changed jobs and those who stayed in their current positions.

—Jesse Pound

'Dare we say Nvidia is now cheap?' says Melius Research

Nvidia shares just closed at a record-high — and there's more momentum ahead, according to Melius Research. 

"One of our sources of (friendly) frustration before the F2Q24 call was when we heard that Nvidia was far too expensive. Well not after F2Q24 revisions, and especially not when you adjust for growth," analyst Ben Reitzes said in a Tuesday note.

"We cover a diverse basket of AI-related stocks and Nvidia is now trading at only a modest premium to the group on a PE basis," he added. According to the analyst, Nvidia is currently trading at a cheaper valuation than shares of Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple, based on enterprise value-to-sales ratios.

The full story can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Align has a big market share opportunity, says HSBC

HSBC thinks there's a big market share opportunity for Invisalign maker Align Technology thanks to strong brand awareness despite increasing competition. The firm initiated coverage with a buy rating on shares.

"We like Align's exposure to the higher growth orthodontic case starts market, which it estimates will grow at a 15-20% [compound annual growth rate]. We think Align can continue to grow its market share from c.10% of c.21m annual orthodontic case starts currently," Sahoo said in a Wednesday note. 

Shares rose 2.5% Wednesday before the bell.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the call here.

— Hakyung Kim

History points to more gains from here for stocks

Despite September being a historically tough month for stocks, investors may want to brace for even more gains through year-end. Bank of America pointed out that, "since 1950, strong performance in the S&P 500 in the first seven months of the year (>15%) has been followed by average returns of 5% through December."

The S&P 500 jumped 19.5% from January to the end of July. For the year, it's up 17%.

— Fred Imbert, Michael Bloom

Treasury yields rise as investors digest economic data

U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday, recovering some of Tuesday's losses, as investors considered the state of the economy after the latest data releases. That includes the consumer confidence index, which came in far lower than previously expected at 106.1 on Tuesday.

At 4:23 am ET, the 10-year Treasury yield was up by over one basis point to 4.1374%, after having fallen by as many as 10 basis points on Tuesday. The 2-year Treasury yield was last trading at 4.9129% after rising by more than two basis points. On Tuesday, it had dropped by as many as 16 basis points.

Yields and prices move in opposite directions and one basis point equals 0.01%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

European equity markets open higher

European stock markets opened higher Wednesday, reflecting moves on Wall Street overnight.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.2%, with most sectors trading in cautiously positive territory. Mining stocks made the biggest gains, with a 0.9% uptick, followed by insurance, which was up 0.6%. Utilities stocks shed 0.4% in early trade.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Country Garden to issue HK$270 million worth of new shares to repay loans

Chinese property firm Country Garden Holdings announced a plan to issue about 270 million Hong Kong dollars ($34.4 million) worth of new shares to repay some of its loans.

The company said the new shares will issued at 77 Hong Kong cents apiece, a 15.38% discount to the 91 cents closing price on Tuesday.

The subscriber of these shares is investment holding firm Ever Credit, wholly owned by laminates manufacturer Kingboard Holdings. Following the transaction, Kingboard will hold a 1.25% stake in Country Garden via Ever Credit.

The company entered into a HK$1.88 billion term loan facility with Ever Credit in December 2021, and this payment will reduce its outstanding loan to the unit to just under HK$1.6 billion.

Country Garden said the share issue is to preserve its cash resources and reduce gearing, and strengthen its financial position.

— Lim Hui Jie

Nio shares plunge 8.3% after EV maker posts wider net loss

Nio's Hong-Kong listed shares plunged 8.30% on Wednesday, a day after posting a net loss of 6.06 billion yuan ($831.65 million) in the second quarter.

The loss was wider than the 2.76 billion yuan net loss logged in the same period last year.

The Chinese EV maker delivered 23,520 vehicles in the second quarter as it sold down the last of its outgoing models at significant discounts. But the refreshed lineup is already driving better results, with 20,462 vehicles delivered in July.

Nio could see deliveries "more than double" in the third quarter, John Zeng, director of China forecasting at Globaldata told CNBC. "Quarterly deliveries will more than double in Q3 and that will help them improve their total revenue."

However, price cuts will give "pressure on their profitability in the coming quarters," said Zeng.

— Sheila Chiang, John Rosevear

Australia inflation softens to 4.9% in July, down from June's 5.4%

Australia's consumer price index grew 4.9% year-on-year in July, a slower rate than the 5.4% in June and the third straight month that the inflation rate has slowed.

Excluding prices of volatile items like fuel, fresh food and holiday travel, the inflation rate came in at 5.8%, lower than the revised June figure of 6.1%.

Australia's statistics bureau said the most significant contributors to the July annual increase were price increases in housing as well as food and non-alcoholic beverages.

— Lim Hui Jie

Chinese banks to cut existing mortgage rates soon: Reuters

Some Chinese state-owned banks will soon lower interest rates on existing mortgages, Reuters reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

If the cuts materialize, this would be the first time since the global financial crisis.

The sources told Reuters that the size of the cuts would vary depending on the clients and location, but could amount to as much as 20 basis points in some cases.

— Lim Hui Jie

Stocks head for losing months despite 11th-hour rally

Stocks notched their third straight winning session on Tuesday. Still, that hasn't been enough to erase losses seen earlier in August.

Here's where the three major indexes stand on the month:

• The Nasdaq Composite is down 2.8%.
• The S&P 500 is down 2%.
• The Dow is down 2%.

Thursday's close marks the end of the trading month.

— Alex Harring

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

These are some of the stocks making the biggest after-hour moves:

• Box — The cloud stock fell 7% after hours on a mixed second-quarter report.
• Ambarella — The semiconductor maker slid nearly 14% as soft current-quarter guidance overshadowed a strong report.
• HP — The product maker dropped 5.6% in extended trading after revenue for its fiscal third quarter came in below Wall Street expectations.

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring

Stock futures are near flat

Stock futures were little changed shortly after 6 p.m. ET.

Futures tied to the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 all traded near flat.

— Alex Harring