NEW YORK: The S&P 500 surged past 3,000 points for the first time on Wednesday in early trading following congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that pointed to a possible interest rate cut.

About 25 minutes into trading, the broad-based S&P 500 stood at 3,001.74, up 0.7 percent.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.0 percent to 8,225.35, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 percent to 26,975.20. Both are above their all-time highs.