The Dow Jones Index, S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite Index all rose at the close for the fifth consecutive quarter.

Wall Street rose for the fifth consecutive quarter on Wednesday, indicating that the United States is continuing to recover from the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The S&P 500 index set a new closing high for the fifth consecutive time, while the Dow Jones index rose slightly, and the Nasdaq index fell slightly, as investors ended the month and the first half of 2021 in a tug of optimism and caution.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 210 points, or 0.61%, to close at 34,502.51 this quarter.

The broader S&P 500 index (representative of the health of retirement and college savings accounts) rose 0.13% to close at 4,297.50, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.17% to 14,503.95.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index recorded its second-best first-half performance since 1998, rising 14.4%.

In June, the S&P 500 index rose for the fifth time in a row, while the Dow Jones index ended its four consecutive months of rising momentum. The Nasdaq index also closed higher this month.

Although the possibility of a return to normal seems promising, concerns about inflation and COVID-19 variants, including the Delta variant, continue to threaten the U.S. economic recovery.

Strong labor and housing data

The payroll processing agency ADP reported on Wednesday that the private sector added 692,000 jobs in June, indicating that the severe labor shortage is beginning to ease.

Industries that reopened and enjoyed the boost from the event performed well.

The leisure and hospitality industry added 332,000 jobs, the education and health sectors added 123,000 jobs, the manufacturing industry added 19,000 jobs, and the construction industry added 47,000 jobs.

But some economists said that compared with the employment report scheduled for Friday by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, ADP’s data is hotter.

Capital Investment’s Michael Pierce said in a report on Wednesday: “Given that the ADP survey overestimated the monthly increase in official private employment by more than 400,000 in recent months, we will not raise the official indicator forecast.”

Pierce added: “We expect an increase of $500,000, which is in line with the recent rise. This figure will provide another signal that the Fed is still some distance from’substantial further progress’ towards achieving its goals.”

US data shows that sales of homes for sale in May increased by 8%, with a strong increase of 15.5% in the Northeast. Although economists predicted a slowdown in the economy, there was a boost.

Jan Hatzius of Goldman Sachs wrote in a report on Wednesday: “The rebound in home sales for sale shows that the pace of existing home sales in early summer is more stable.”