Stocks finish with small gains as video game makers surge

U.S. stock indexes finished with small gains Wednesday as video game makers gave technology companies a boost and household goods companies also rose. However a recent decline in interest rates continued to put pressure on banks.

“Grand Theft Auto” and “NBA2K” maker Take-Two Interactive Software soared after it reported better-than-expected sales, while Activision Blizzard jumped after it said the newest “Call of Duty” game had a strong debut over the weekend. Technology companies rose for the tenth day in a row. Companies that make and sell household goods, like Colgate-Palmolive and Walmart, gained ground as well.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.1 percent, to 2,594.38. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 6.13 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 23,563.36. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3 percent, to 6,789.12. All three closed at record highs. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 0.2 percent, to 1,481.73.

It’s been a year since Donald Trump was elected president, and the S&P 500 has jumped 21 percent. That’s more than stocks have risen after many recent presidential elections, but it trails the market move after Barack Obama’s re-election in 2012. — AP