New record highs for Dow Jones and Standard and Poor's 500

NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks made significant gains Wednesday despite the southeast of the country being battered by Hurricane Milton, Israel vowing a surprise 'lethal' attack on Iran, a sharply -contest U.S. election, and a Federal Reserve contemplating the size of the next interest cut, with crucial inflation data due out Thursday.

"The Fed is the key thing, that's the big driver," Mike Bailey, director of