Stocks closed mostly higher Wednesday as Wall Street steadied itself following its worst day in weeks.
- The S&P 500 rose 5.68 points, or 0.1%, to 5,211.49, clawing back a bit of its loss from the prior day.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 43.10 points, or 0.1%, to 39,127.14.
- The Nasdaq composite rose 37.01 points, or 0.2%, to 16,277.46.
Treasury yields eased after a report said growth for US services businesses cooled last month. That could keep the Federal Reserve on track to cut interest rates several times this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said again that the Fed will cut rates after getting more confirmation that inflation is heading down.
GE Aerospace jumped 6.7% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. It's the second day of trading for the company after splitting off its power and energy business to mark the end of the General Electric conglomerate, the AP reports. GE Vernova, the power business, fell 1.9%. Cal-Maine Foods rose 3.6% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected by selling a record number of eggs. They helped offset a 8.2% drop for Intel, which disclosed financial details about key parts of its business for the first time, including its money-losing foundry business. The Walt Disney Co. fell 3.1% after shareholders voted against installing an activist investor to its board who had promised to shake up the company to lift its stock price.
Markets took encouragement from a report on Wednesday morning showing construction, retail, and other US services businesses continued to grow last month, but not by as much as economists expected. The report from the Institute from Supply Management also said an index of prices paid was at its lowest level since March 2020, an encouraging trend for inflation. That calmed Wall Street's nerves following a report earlier in the morning that markets found more discouraging. It suggested stronger gains than expected in hiring within the private sector. That report from the ADP Research Institute said employers accelerated their hiring last month, when economists were forecasting a slowdown.
story continues below
Traders have already drastically reduced their expectations for how many times the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year, halving them from a forecast of six at the start of the year. Some investors are preparing for two or even zero cuts this year because the Fed may not want to begin lowering rates too close to November's election out of fear of appearing political. But Powell said Wednesday that the Fed has the independence that "both enables and requires us to make our monetary policy decisions without consideration of short-term political matters." That could be a hint that it may make a move that some may see as uncomfortably close to the election.
(More
stock market stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
