Stocks Grind Higher On Wednesday (SPY, QQQQ, GLD, USO, TLT, UUP)

The U.S. equity market got off to a shaky start on Wednesday, but stock prices rose throughout the session, and finished near their highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 67 points to close at 12,086. The widely watched blue-chip index traded in a range between 11,973 and 12,116. The Basic Material sector was the biggest gainer, adding 1.39%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF

climbed 0.29% to $129.66. Volume was a little lighter than normal with around 147.6 million SPY shares trading hands compared to a 3-month daily average of 161 million. The PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF

, which tracks the performance of the Nasdaq 100, added 0.57% to $55.71. The symbol for the heavily traded ETF changed from QQQQ to QQQ today. Gold continued its climb on Wednesday. Currently, COMEX gold futures are up 0.73% to $1,438 on the day. The SPDR Gold Trust ETF

closed up 0.93% to $140.34 on the New York Stock Exchange, which is a new all-time closing high. Oil also continued its ascent, with NYMEX crude futures adding 0.48% and topping the $105 level at $105.47. The United States Oil Fund ETF

gained 0.43% to $42.11 in NYSE trading. Long-term Treasuries finished moderately lower after gapping up at the open. The iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

lost 0.13% to $93.10. The yield on the 10-Year Note gained 1.5 basis points to 3.34%. The U.S. Dollar moved higher on Wednesday, although it continues to trade near multi-year lows. The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF

, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, gained 0.58% to $21.78. The closely watched EUR/USD pair is currently trading at $1.4088.