Stocks ended Wednesday's session mixed as market participants weighed ongoing stimulus talks and vaccine optimism against the Federal Open Market Committee's December monetary policy decision. The Nasdaq rose to a new all-time closing higher, while the S&P 500 gained to just short of its previous record. However, the Dow was pressured by signs of slowing economic recovery.

The Commerce Department reported that retail sales fell by a larger-than-expected 1.1% in November, weighed down by surging coronavirus cases nationwide and decreasing household incomes amid the holiday spending season.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated in a press conference following the release of the central bank's new monetary policy that outlook for the economy still remains "extraordinarily uncertain." Powell noted that while the roll out of coronavirus vaccines boost recovery forecasts, the timing and distribution of the vaccines and the economic implications are still unclear.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met on Tuesday to discuss both the new bipartisan coronavirus relief package and a broader government spending bill that is due to pass by Friday. Market participants saw this meeting as progress towards finally passing a stimulus bill after months of impasses and stalemates.

Here's how the market settled for the mid-week:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +0.18% or +6.55 points to 3,701.17

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -0.15% or -44.77 points to 30,154.54

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +0.50% or +63.13 points to 12,658.19

For Stocks, Tilray (TLRY  ) shares surged over 18% after the cannabis company and rival Aphria (APHA  ) announced that the two had reached an agreement to combine businesses. The all-stock deal will result in a new giant in the growing industry, with the combined company reaching a value of about $3.9 billion. Google (GOOGL  ) came under pressure after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he was suing the search engine for anti-competitive behavior in its digital advertising business.

For Sector Performance, sectors on the S&P ended Wednesday's session split as the market looked for direction. Top gainers included Consumer Discretionary (XLY  ), which rose over 1%, and Information Technology (XLK  ). Top losers included Utilities (XLU  ), which fell over 1%, Industrials (XLI  ) and Energy (XLE  ).

For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) fell further on Wednesday as Washington lawmakers made more progress towards a near trillion coronavirus relief package, boosting risk sentiment. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against other global currencies, fell to 90.23, which is its lowest level since 2018. Gold (GLD  ) prices left Wednesday's session little changed as investors maintained their hedging bets against inflation. Spot gold stayed relatively unchanged at $1,854.18 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures settled 0.2% higher at $1,858.70 per ounce. Crude oil prices increased on Wednesday, as demand optimism washed over investors ahead of additional stimulus. International benchmark Brent Crude (BNO  ) rose slightly to settle at $51.04 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (USO  ) climbed 0.4% to $47.82 each.

While not usually tracked in this report, Bitcoin crossed the $20,000 threshold for the first time ever on Wednesday as market participants became increasingly bullish towards the risky cryptocurrency.

For Thursday, traders will turn their attention to fresh unemployment data as well as continued updates from the fiscal stimulus front.