The Dow Jones Industrial Average tried to whittle morning losses down while other indexes closed firmly in positive ground Wednesday amid cooling inflation. Nvidia and Tesla made significant gains during their second straight session in the black on the stock market today.
The Dow struggled to reach positive ground, but ultimately fell a little short with a 0.2% loss at the close. In addition to Nvidia, Dow leaders Salesforce, American Express, Boeing and Goldman Sachs tried to give blue chips a boost. Verizon Communications, Proctor & Gamble, Walmart and McDonald's teamed up to drag the Dow lower.
The S&P 500 posted a 0.5% gain on Wednesday. Leading the pack, however, was the Nasdaq, as the tech-heavy index added 1.2%. Both the S&P and Nasdaq broke a two-day losing streak.
Small caps on the Russell 2000 rose 0.3%. The Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund added 1.1%.
Volume was lower on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq exchange compared with the same time on Tuesday. Decliners lagged advancers 5-to-4 on the NYSE and 3-to-2 on the Nasdaq.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose three basis points to 4.32%.
Palantir surged more than 7% on Wednesday, ahead of its artificial intelligence conference IAPCon. Analysts are focusing on new customers the AI titan has acquired. Shares remain below their 50-day moving average.
3:14 p.m. ET
Which Industries Thrived; Cathie Wood Buys Defense Stock
Among Investor's Business Daily's 197 industry groups, cable and satellite telecom services and integrated telecom services fell. Auto manufacturers, telecom fiber optics and computer hardware peripherals gained.
Quantum stocks gained after D-Wave Quantum claimed a breakthrough in quantum computing that could lead to advances in the discovery of materials. Shares rose nearly 9% and tried to retake the 50-day moving average. Fellow quantum player IonQ soared on the news.
Cathie Wood's ARK Invest bought defense stock AeroVironment, according to a website that tracks daily trades in the ARK funds.
AeroVironment stock is down 19% year to date as of Tuesday's closing price and 48% from its all-time high of 236.60. Shares fell again Wednesday.
2:03 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Steel Stocks Mixed After Tariffs
Steel stocks showed mixed action as a 25% tariff on steel imports went into effect Wednesday. After a dull start, Nucor changed direction in the afternoon and added nearly 1% while United States Steel rose nearly 3% and remained above its 50-day moving average.
Steel Dynamics gained as well. Aluminum stocks Alcoa and Century Aluminum also climbed. Century Aluminum cleared the 50-day line at one point.
Meanwhile, Canada retaliated with $20.6 billion in tariffs on U.S. imported goods. Further, the European Union announced a 50% tariff on American whiskey, motorcycles and motorboats. The tariffs will land on April 1. More levies on poultry, soybeans and other goods are due to go into effect mid-April.
Nvidia, Tesla Start A Streak
Elsewhere, Magnificent Seven stock Nvidia surged. Nvidia rallied amid reports that Taiwan Semiconductor had approached the AI chip leader for a joint venture using Intel's fab operations. Taiwan Semi and Intel both climbed.
And fellow Magnificent Seven stock Tesla rallied more than 7% but remained well below its key moving averages. Both Nvidia and Tesla are working on their second straight day of gains after a rough period.
12:14 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Inflation Cooler Than Expected
Inflation data for February showed that prices rose 0.2% month on month and 2.8% on an annual basis. Economists had expected a 0.3% increase on a monthly basis and 2.9% annually. Core inflation increased 0.2% vs. views for a 0.3% increase from January and 3.1% annually, just below estimates of 3.2%.
On Wednesday, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta Platforms signed a pledge to triple global nuclear power supply by 2050. Vistra, Constellation Energy and GE Vernova gained.
10:51 a.m. ET
Dow Jones Players On Stock Market Today
Three of the four Magnificent Seven stocks on the Dow rose on Wednesday, led by Nvidia's gain. Amazon rose more than 1%.
Nvidia retook the 10-day moving line while Amazon claimed the 200-day moving average.
Among the other Dow Jones Magnificent Seven components, Apple lost nearly 2% while and Microsoft managed a small gain.
How Invested In The Stock Market Should You Be Right Now?
In retail, Casey's General Stores was an earnings mover on Wednesday. Sales in the third quarter grew 17% to $3.9 billion while earnings of $2.33 per share was unchanged from the prior year.
The stock triggered two sell signals heading into earnings by falling below its 50-day moving average and more than 7% below a buy point of 439.68. But on Wednesday, shares retook the stock's 200-day moving average.
Software Earnings Ahead
Earnings loom for Adobe, UiPath, SentinelOne after the close Wednesday.
Analysts polled by FactSet estimate sales and earnings growth of 9% for Adobe with sales at $5.7 billion and earnings reaching $4.97 a share. Shares of Adobe have been in a downtrend since December and are trying to get past a level of resistance at the 50-day moving average.
UiPath and SentinelOne also reversed higher but remain in downtrends. Adobe makes desktop software, while UiPath offers software for business automation. SentinelOne's software is used to detect and prevent cyberattacks.
Elsewhere, Novo Nordisk fell while Eli Lilly managed to trim most of its early losses amid news that Roche was entering the obesity drug market in partnership with Zealand Pharma. Both Novo and Lilly have undercut their 50-day lines.
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