Stock Market Today: Stocks end higher, S&P 500 posts fresh record again

Updated at 5:20 PM EST by Rob Lenihan

Stocks ended higher Wednesday, with the S&P 500 posting its second consecutive record close, despite renewed tariff and inflation concerns.

The S&P 500 rose 0.24% to close at a record high of 6,144.15 and also touched a fresh all-time high during the session

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 71.25 points, or 0.16%, to finished the session at 44,627.59, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.07% to end the day at 20,056.25

Updated at 2:08 PM EST

Waiting for Godot

Fed officials worried about the impact of tariff and immigration policies from the new Trump administration on inflation, minutes of the central bank's policy meeting that ended on January 29, but agreed that the broader economic outlook remained largely unchanged heading into the first months of the year.

"Factors were cited as having the potential to hinder the disinflation process, including the effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy as well as strong consumer demand," the Minutes read. 

"Business contacts in a number of Districts had indicated that firms would attempt to pass on to consumers higher input costs arising from potential tariffs," the minutes added. "In addition, some participants noted that some market- or survey-based measures of expected inflation had increased recently, although many participants emphasized that longer-term measures of expected inflation had remained well anchored."

The Fed held its benchmark borrowing rate unchanged at between 4.25% and 4.5% at last month's meeting, with Chairman Jerome Powell emphasizing that officials are in "no hurry" to reduce rates further until they better understand the direction of the economy, the strength of the labor market and the tariff and immigration impact. 

Stocks were little-changed following the release, with the S&P 500 last marked 3 points higher on the session and the Nasdaq up 2 points. 

Fed minutes: Not much news on rates—it's wait-and-see until there's something to see.

But the Fed discussed possibly pausing or slowing balance sheet runoff pending resolution of the debt limit given the potential for big swings in reserve balances. https://t.co/5R77ZVE59H pic.twitter.com/LzSZkqSMmQ— Nick Timiraos (@NickTimiraos) February 19, 2025

Updated at 11:27 AM EST

Shiny new Apple

Apple  (AAPL)  shares slipped lower after the tech giant debuted its lower-priced iPhone 16e, which includes its new Apple Intelligence AI technologies and in-house made A18 chips.

The new handset, which goes on general sale later this month, is priced at $599, a $200 discount to the baseline iPhone 16 model release last year, and will have a 6.1 inch OLED screen and back-facing 48-megapixel camera.

Apple share were last marked 0.11% lower in late morning trading and changing hands at $244.07 each.

Get ready to meet the newest member of the family.

Wednesday, February 19. #AppleLaunch pic.twitter.com/0ML0NfMedu— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 13, 2025

Updated at 9:34 AM EST

Red open

The S&P 500 was marked 11 points lower, or 0.17%, in the opening minutes of trading, with the Nasdaq down 43 points, or 0.22%.

The Dow fell 173 points while the mid-cap Russell 2000 fell 16 points, or 0.71%.

S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Feb. 19, 2025)$SPY -0.25%