The S&P 500 ended higher on Wednesday – and so did every sector

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5:27 p.m. Den
S&P 500
ended higher Wednesday – and so did all sectors of the index.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 2924.43 as the shares followed traders higher, while
Dow Jones industrial average
climbed 240.29 points, or 0.9%, to 26202.73. It should come as no surprise that the S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary Sector Index, up 1.8%, was the best performer today, given
target

(TGT) 20% jump to $ 103.00 after the hit. The worst performer was the S&P 500 Consumer Staples Index, which rose just 0.3% – no need to play defense today.

It was the ninth time in August that all 11 indices closed in the same direction in a single day. These are the most common occurrences since January 2016, and one more than in December 2018. Such measures suggest that investors are not buying so many shares, but are instead responding to major macro problems. Concerns about a recession one day make them sell, well, everything, while good news the next makes them buy unison.

It's been that kind of month. And with seven more trading days left in the month, it's not over.

Markets Now is a quick grasp of what happens to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major market indices. Don't forget to check out the rest of Barron's market coverage.

Write to Ben Levisohn at Ben.Levisohn@barrons.com