US stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 making turning lower late in the day while the Nasdaq ended at a record high.
“US stocks are stabilizing as investors are clearly in wait-and-see mode over the current wave of inflationary pressures,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a statement. “Equities have quickly bounced back from last week’s Fed-induced selloff as investors quickly realize interest rates will not move anytime soon.”
Equities were up and down throughout the day, dipping lower after Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said the central bank could raise rates in 2022, as well as start tapering asset purchases in the near term. He also said higher inflation in the US could last up to nine month.
The US 10-year Treasury note was last at 1.492%. On Tuesday, yields fell 2 basis points, responding to the Fed’s more tempered policy outlook.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Wednesday:
Microsoft still has 23% upside potential even after it surpassed a $2 trillion valuation on Tuesday, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. He also increased his price target to $325 from $310 and reiterated his “outperform” rating on the stock.
Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plunged as much as 45% following a ruling from the Supreme Court. In a 7-2 decision, the court gave the US President authority to remove the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, complicating the prospects for their release from government control.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency space has been recovering from its most recent sell-off.
Bitcoin staged a rebound after wiping out all its gains for 2021 at one point the day prior. The world’s largest cryptocurrency climbed as much as 6% to $34,821.53.
Cathie Wood’s ARK ETFs took advantage of last week’s crypto carnage to load up on shares of Coinbase and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, fund filings show.
Crypto exchange FTX announced it is partnering with Major League Baseball to become the first cryptocurrency exchange sponsor in professional sports.
Oil rose ahead of a meeting of the OPEC+ group next week.
West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.48% to $73.20 per barrel. Brent crude, oil’s international benchmark, jumped by $0.57% to $75.24 – edging to its highest since late 2018.
Gold slightly rose 0.03% to $1,778.03 per ounce.
Lumber fell as much as 3% to $859.8 per thousand board feet, extending the fall beneath $900 as the commodity’s rally continues to cool off.
