Stock market indexes crisscrossed the flatline at midday Wednesday. But the ticker tape could change this afternoon when the Federal Reserve releases details of the late January meeting.
Indexes remained wobbly after Tuesday's stock market sell-off. At midday, the Nasdaq composite, which was gouged for a 2.5% loss Tuesday, was up 0.1%.
The S&P 500 was nearly flat as it heads for a test of its 50-day moving average. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1%.
Dow component Intel faded back to session lows. The chipmaker reduced its quarterly dividend 66%, to 12.5 cents from 36.5 cents per share. Intel described the cut as a "deliberate approach to capital allocation and is designed to best position the company to create long-term value."
The chip giant expects to lose 15 cents per share in the first quarter, as it embarks on a long-term cost-cutting program.
The Russell 2000 climbed 0.4% as small caps outperformed.
Volume fell on the Nasdaq and the NYSE compared with the same time on Tuesday. Those ratios could change after the Fed minutes.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note eased 4 basis points to 3.92%. It remains near the psychologically significant 4% level, as it works on a fifth-straight weekly gain.
The main reason for the benchmark yield's recent gains is the growing expectation that the Fed won't back off interest-rate hikes as soon as investors hoped. Those expectations will be in focus at 2 p.m. ET, when minutes of its Jan. 31-Feb. 1 meeting are released.
Stock Market Focuses On Earnings
Until then, earnings reports are keeping traders occupied.
Wingstop trimmed early gains to 9% at midday. The restaurant chain's fourth-quarter earnings and sales breezed past analyst expectations. The company backed its three-to-five year outlook and set plans to open 240 locations this year. It currently has nearly 2,000.
The stock easily regained the 169.04 buy point of a cup-with-handle base and is now extended from the 5% buy zone.
Palo Alto Networks beat earnings and revenue expectations as growth in next-generation, annual-recurring revenue from cloud products beat views. Shares of the cybersecurity stock gapped up to a gain of nearly 11%, clearing resistance around 180.
Pain continued for Chinese stocks.
Baidu jumped 5% early, but reversed to a loss of nearly 4% at midday. The internet-services giant reported December-quarter revenue above views and announced a $5 billion share buyback program. The iShares MSCI China ETF is down 0.8%, on pace for a sixth-straight drop.
TJX, CoStar Fall After Earnings
In another weak retail-sector report for the stock market, TJX Cos. fell nearly 1% on a mixed holiday-quarter report. Not even news of a dividend hike and share buyback could appease investors. The stock is 5% below the 81.27 buy point of a Jan. 6 breakout but is forming a new base.
La-Z-Boy gapped up and cleared buy points at 30.33 and 31.29 in heavy trading. The furniture retailer's January-quarter results topped expectations.
CoStar Group gapped down about 6% in big volume, undercutting a base that had been forming for about three months. The parent company of Apartments.com and other online real estate data providers fell despite beating Q4 estimates.
Scorpio Tankers shares have faded since the oil-shipper's earnings report last Thursday. The stock is retreating toward the 57.81 buy point of the most recent breakout. There's more room left from a 54.83 alternative entry, however.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF trimmed an early 0.6% gain to just 0.1%. Most gains in the index were meek compared with Tuesday's losses.
DoubleVerify is forming a cup-with-handle base with a 28.99 buy point, making it one IBD 50 stock to watch.
