The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other indexes saw some gains fade at market close Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held rates steady and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell wasn't as hawkish as many feared.
Meanwhile, Nvidia fell in sympathy as other artificial intelligence players plunged on earnings. And electric-car giant Tesla slipped on the stock market today amid industry delivery numbers for April.
Stocks on the Dow Jones index collectively climbed 1.2% shortly after Fed chair Powell spoke as several blue chips gained. But by the close, the index had faded to a 0.2% gain, or about 100 points. The Nasdaq, which had been up more than 1.5%, and the S&P 500 both closed 0.3% lower.
All three major indexes remain below their 50-day moving averages and were turned away at the 21-day moving average.
Small caps bucked the trend, however, with the Russell 2000 up 0.3%. The Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund trimmed its gain to 0.7% at the close of trading.
Volume was higher on the New York Stock Exchange and on the Nasdaq from Tuesday's totals, according to preliminary data. Advancers outnumbered decliners by about 3-to-2 on both main exchanges.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 9 basis points to 4.59%, a drop that accelerated once the Fed statement came out and Powell began his news conference.
Powell Allays Fears Of Rate Hike
The Fed maintained the fed funds rate at 5.25% to 5.5%, as expected. But the central bank slowed the pace at which it's shrinking its balance sheet.
After the meeting, per the CME FedWatch Tool, traders saw a 39.3% chance rates will be cut by 25 basis points at the Fed's September gathering.
Meanwhile, Automatic Data Processing reported the economy added 192,000 jobs in April. That was higher than expectations of 175,000, according to Econoday estimates.
The Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary reported little change in March. There were 8.488 million job openings on the last business day of March vs. 8.813 million in February. The reported numbers were lower than Econoday estimates of 8.7 million.
Also, the Purchasing Managers' Manufacturing Index for April came in at 50 vs. views of 49.9. Further, the manufacturing index from the Institute for Supply Management came in at 49.2. Economists expected it to be 50.
Stock Market Today: Amazon Up On Earnings
On the Dow Jones index, Amazon.com trimmed its gains to 2.2% after an earnings beat on the stock market today. The e-commerce behemoth's results were helped by growth in cloud computing and advertising.
But Amazon's sales outlook for the current quarter came in a tad lower than expected. Shares are holding the 50-day moving average, according to IBD MarketSurge chart analysis tools.
Amazon was the top gainer on the Dow. Other Dow tech players rose as Microsoft climbed 1.5% and Salesforce and Cisco erased gains in late trading.
Super Micro, AMD Fall; Nvidia Sympathizes
Outside the Dow, Super Micro Computer took a 14% plunge after sales came in lighter than views, though earnings were higher than forecast for the maker of artificial intelligence servers. Advanced Micro Devices fell 7% after its outlook for the current quarter held no surprises.
As a result, Nvidia, a holding in both IBD Leaderboard and IBD SwingTrader, fell below its 50-day moving average in sympathy and closed nearly 4% lower. Shares remain in a consolidation pattern with a buy point at 974.
In health care, CVS Health dived nearly 17% after first-quarter results disappointed investors. A lowered full-year outlook also did not help.
Garmin gapped up from its 50-day moving average on the stock market today after first-quarter results beat estimates. Wingstop closed 0.2% lower. It beat views for its first quarter. Garmin and Wingstop are holdings in the IBD 50.
Stocks Round-Trip Fed Gains; Carvana Skyrockets Late
Stock Market Today: Tesla Falls As Rivals Report
Tesla fell nearly 2% as rivals reported mixed deliveries for April. China's Nio, BYD and Xpeng said deliveries rose from a year ago while Li Auto saw deliveries decline. Nio stock soared 11.4% while Li fell 0.3%. Xpeng fell 0.3%. BYD added to early gains and rose 1.5%.
Generac gave up early gains and fell 6% after first-quarter sales for the generators maker came in slightly higher than expected.
Qualcomm reported earnings after the close and the stock climbed about 3% in extended trading. Shares are holding the 50-day moving average within a base with a buy point of 175.99.
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