Wednesday, the Dow was down 21.03 points (0.10%) at 20,975.09, the NASDAQ was virtually unchanged at 6,025.23, and the S&P 500 decreased by 1.16 (0.05%) to 2,387.45. The Russell 2000 increased 8.36 points (0.59%) to 1,419.43, and the Wilshire 5000 was up 5.81 points (0.02%) at 24,949.21.

On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares traded, with 1.3 advancing issues for every declining issue. On the NASDAQ, 2.9 billion shares changed hands, with a 1.6 to 1 ratio of advancers to decliners.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 9/32, decreasing its yield to 2.305%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased 16/32, bringing its yield down to 2.962%.

ON THIS DATE: In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines. In 1861, West Virginia seceded from Virginia after Virginia seceded from the Union during the American Civil War. In 1865, in the U.S., the Sultana exploded while carrying 2,300 Union POWs. Between 1,400 and 2,000 were killed. In 1880, Francis Clarke and M.G. Foster patented the electrical hearing aid. In 1897, Grant’s Tomb was dedicated. In 1960, the submarine Tullibee was launched from Groton, Connecticut. It was the first sub to be equipped with closed-circuit television. In 1965, “Pampers” were patented by R.C. Duncan. In 1982, the trial of John W. Hinckley Jr. began in Washington, D.C. Hinckley was later acquitted by reason of insanity for the shooting of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and three others. In 1983, Nolan Ryan (Houston Astros) broke a 55-year-old major league baseball record when he struck out his 3,509th batter of his career. In 1989, student protestors took over Tiananmen Square in Beijing. In 1992, Russia and 12 other former Soviet republics won entry into the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In 2006, in New York City, construction began on the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center on the site of former World Trade Center.