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| - Wall Street stocks were mixed early Wednesday following the prior session's records, while big-box retailer Target surged after announcing strong results. A day after hitting its first record since February, the broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.1 percent to 3,392.77. About 25 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 percent to 27,907.15, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.2 percent to 11,184.84. Tuesday's records by the S&P 500 and Nasdaq underscored the stocks' momentum in the wake of aggressive policies by the Federal Reserve to boost liquidity. The Fed will release minutes of its latest meeting later on Wednesday. Besides monetary policy, massive fiscal stimulus has also lifted the US economy, although Congress' latest effort to boost the coronavirus-battered economy has stalled amid partisan fighting. Among individual companies, Target jumped nearly 10 percent as it reported an 80 percent increase in profits to $1.7 billion following surging sales amid the coronavirus. Target is among the multipurpose retailers deemed "essential" that stayed open throughout the spring when many smaller chains closed. Johnson & Johnson climbed 0.8 percent as it announced a $6.5 billion acquisition of Momenta Pharmaceuticals, which developes therapies for immune-mediated diseases. The transaction grants J&J an additional therapeutic for treating maternal-fetal disorders, neuro-inflammatory disorders, rheumatology, dermatology and autoimmune hematology, J&J said. jmb/cs
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