By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – The S&P 500 climbed Wednesday, fueled by an Apple-infused climb in technology and consumer discretionary stocks as retailers rallied.

While the Nasdaq gained 0.25%, it fell 0.19% or 66 points.

Apple (NASDAQ: ) reached record heights following a Bloomberg report that suggested Apple’s plans to increase the pace of development for its electric vehicle, and to have it on the roads by 2025.

The news spurred bullish bets on tech, with some on Wall Street forecasting that entry into the EV market could add at least $30 per share to Apple’s share price.

“We continue to believe its a matter of when, not if, Apple enters the EV race and this will add another $30+ per share of TAM [total addressable market] to the Apple growth story over the next few years given the golden age of EV transformation on the horizon,” Wedbush said in a note.

Semiconductor stocks also played a role in the broader market’s advance, underpinned by Nvidia.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:) reported third-quarter results that topped analysts’ estimates following record growth in its gaming and data center businesses.

Surging retail stocks and better-than expected quarterly results have supported consumer discretionary. 

Bath Body Works (NYSE) increased more than 6% following better-than expected fourth-quarter guidance. These results were a result of third-quarter results surpassing Wall Street forecasts.

Analysts on Wall Street welcomed bullish guidance, with Credit Suisse lifting its price target on the stock to $76 from $67 to reflect the company’s “strong consistency in driving revenue growth.”

Macy’s (NYSE:) also reported a third-quarter beat on both the top and bottom lines, sending its share price up more than 20%.

The consumer discretionary market meltdown was also caused by Gap (NYSE) and Amazon (NASDAQ).

Energy prices continued to slide despite oil prices ignoring expectations for a boost in global supplies. This was despite China’s announcement that it would draw on its crude reserves to help cool rising energy prices.

Economically, the number of jobless claims declined more than was expected. Meanwhile, the Philly Fed manufacturing index reached its highest mark since March 1973.

The November Philly Fed index rose to 39.0 from 23.8 in October, which was well above consensus at 24.0.

The Labor Department reported that 268,000 people filed for unemployment insurance in the week ended Nov. 13, missing economists’ forecasts for a fall to 260,000.

In IPO news Sweetgreen (NYSE: ) The stock more than doubled during its debut on the public market. The shares of the salad company opened at $52.