Stocks ended mixed Wednesday, one day after the S&P 500 closed at a record high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.10% to finish at 39,043.32, while the S&P 500 took a step back from its record-break close in the previous session to end down 0.19 at 5,165.31. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.54% to 16,177.77.
Tech stocks lost ground, chipmaker Nvidia ending down 1.12%, while electric vehicle maker Tesla dropped 4.54%.
Updated at 1:07 PM EDT
Solid long auction
The Treasury wrapped-up the third of three major coupon bond auctions Wednesday with the $22 billion sale of re-opened 30-year bonds, following mixed sales of 3-year and 10-year paper earlier in the week.
Investors placed bids worth $54.3 billion, generating a bid-to-cover rate of 2.47, modestly higher than the 2.41 ratio recorded during a $25 billion sale last month. Foreign buyers were also active, taking down around 69.3% of the sale, a small decline from last month's tally of 70.7%.
🇺🇸 United States 30-Year Bond Auction $USD
— PiQ (@PiQSuite) March 13, 2024
Actual: 4.331%
Previous: 4.360%
Updated at 12:03 PM EDT
She's no Édith Piaf ...
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Fox Business Wednesday that she regrets using the term "transitory" to describe post-pandemic inflation pressures, but expects prices to slow further into this year as rent levels retreat.
"I have every expectation that the single biggest contributor to inflation is going to be moving down over this year," Yellen said.
Headline inflation quickened to 3.2% last month, according to Commerce Department data published Tuesday, after peaking at a multi-decade high of 9.1% in June of 2022.
NEW - Yellen on inflation: "I regret saying it was transitory."pic.twitter.com/zYgpGzuGS6
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) March 13, 2024
Updated at 10:05 AM EDT
Mixed open
Stocks were mixed in the opening half hour of trading, but with not much change in any direction amid a light calendar of earnings and data releases ahead of tomorrow's PPI and retail sales reports.
The S&P 500 was marked 10 points lower, or 0.19%, while the Dow added 89 points thanks to gains from Chevron (CVX) and Microsoft (MSFT) . The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, slipped 105 points, or 0.64%.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Mar. 13, 2024)$SPY -0.11% 🟥$QQQ -0.65% 🟥$DJI +0.14% 🟩$IWM +0.47% 🟩
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) March 13, 2024
Stocks on move: $GXAI +177.5%, $WSM +14.7%, $PDD +5.6%, $SQ +4.3%, $MSTR +2.9%, $SOUN +6.5%, $NEE +4.71%, (🟢) || $DLTR -13.2%, $NVDA -2.5%, $AMD -3.3%, $TSLA -1.9%, $MCD… pic.twitter.com/OPbO1COXuY
Updated at 9:26 AM EDT
Nike on watch
Nike (NKE) shares are likely to be in focus Wednesday after its main sporting goods rival, Adidas, posted its first annual loss in more than three decades and warned the U.S. sales would likely decline further over the coming year.
Adidas, which lost billions in an ill-fated attempt to leverage a brand tie-up with entertainer Kanye West, said overstocked retailers in the US would likely need to extend discounts, further pressuring profit margins, while expenses could increase given the ongoing delays in shipments tied to disruption in the Red Sea.
Nike, which is expected to report first quarter earnings next week, was marked 0.32% higher in pre-market trading at $100.50 each.
Updated at 8:36 AM EDT
Tesla tumble
Tesla shares are set to open at a 10-month low Wednesday following a big price target downgrade from Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan, who argues the EV maker faces headwinds that could threaten its status as a member of the so-called Magnificent 7.
Tesla shares were last marked 2.65% lower in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $172.84 each.
Related: Analyst reveals new Tesla price target and Mag 7 risk as shares extend slump
Stock Market Today
Stocks managed to shrug off the hotter-than-expected details on price pressures, which showed an untick in headline CPI against a modest downward movement in the key core reading, on the back of big gains for AI-related tech stocks.
Related: February inflation surprises with modest uptick, but core pressures ease
The S&P 500 closed at 5,175.27 points, taking its year-to-date advance to around 8.5%, thanks in part to a 7% surge in Nvidia (NVDA) and the biggest single-day gain for Oracle (ORCL) since 2021.
The moves also came despite a firm move higher in Treasury yields as traders were spooked by both the headline inflation reading and a weaker-than-expected auction of $39 billion in new 10-year notes, which drew meager demand from foreign investors.
Benchmark 10-year notes, holding on to their recent spike, were last marked at 4.161% heading into the New York trading session, with 2-year paper pegged at 4.607%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.02% higher at 102.973.
That said, the odds of a June interest-rate cut from the Federal Reserve are still trading around the 60% mark, with traders betting on at least three, and possibly four, rate reductions between now and the end of the year.
Wall Street's next focus is likely to be Thursday's factory gate inflation report, set to arrive before the start of trading alongside February retail-sales data, before shifting to the Fed's March policy meeting next week in Washington.
"Hopes remain that even though we continue to be far from the Fed's 2% target they will still make cuts, believing that a lower federal-funds rate will still keep sufficient pressure on inflation to move eventually towards 2%," said Louis Navellier of Navellier Calculated Investing.
"Behind the curtain, there is undeniable political pressure to lower rates given soaring government debt levels, a meaningful part that is on the short end of the yield curve," he added.
Heading into the start of the trading day, stocks are looking at a muted open, but the S&P 500 is still called 2 points higher from last night's close, with futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicating a 48-point advance.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 15 points lower, thanks in part to another leg lower for Tesla (TSLA) and premarket declines for chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel (INTC) .
In Europe, the regionwide Stoxx 600 was marked 0.23% in early Frankfurt trading, with Britain's FTSE 100 0.11% higher in London following surprisingly solid January GDP data.
Overnight in Asia, the Nikkei 225 slipped for a second day, falling 0.26% to close at 38,695.97 points. The MSCI ex-Japan benchmark traded near a seven-month high before slowing to the finish and ending 0.36% lower in the session.
Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024
