Stocks showed a strong move to the upside early in the session on Wednesday but have given back ground since then. The major averages have pulled back well off their highs of the session, with the Dow sliding firmly into negative territory.
Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is down 213.78 points or 0.5 percent at 43,407.38, the S&P 500 is 3.48 points or 0.1 percent at 5,958.73 and the Nasdaq is up 68.46 points or 0.4 percent at 19,094.84.
The early strength on Wall Street partly reflected bargain hunting following weakness, which saw the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 close lower for four straight sessions.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled to its lowest closing level in three months on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 fell to a one-month closing low.
Buying interest has waned over the course of the session, however, as traders express caution ahead of earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA).
The AI darling and market leader has pulled back off its best levels but remains up by 3.6 percent ahead of the release of its fourth quarter financial results after the close of today’s trading.
“Nvidia is due to report its fourth-quarter and full-year results on Wednesday and investors will be looking forward to the usual demolition of forecasts and also positive guidance for the next quarter from chief executive Jensen Huang,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“Failure to deliver the customary upside surprise might not sit well,” he added. “Nvidia’s shares are no higher than they were last summer, despite strong earnings and ongoing investor enthusiasm for all things related to artificial intelligence, so any unexpected disappointment could cause some share price turbulence.”
The pullback by stocks also comes after President Donald Trump reiterated he is “not stopping” previously delayed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, saying they would go into effect with “no exceptions.”
“We’ve been taken advantage of as a country for a long period of time,” Trump said. “We’ve been tariffed, but we didn’t tariff.”
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing a substantial pullback by new home sales in the U.S. in the month of January.
The Commerce Department said new home sales plunged by 10.5 percent to an annual rate of 657,000 in January after spiking by 8.1 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 734,000 in December.
Economists had expected new home sales to slump by 2.6 percent to an annual rate of 680,000 from the 698,000 originally reported for the previous month.
Sector News
Networking stocks continue to see substantial strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index surging by 2.8 percent after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in over a month.
Considerable strength also remains visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Gold, semiconductor and brokerage stocks are also turning in strong performances, while housing and oil stocks have moved to the downside over the course of the session.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.3 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.0 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index spiked by 3.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index shot up by 1.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index surged by 1.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved higher over the course of the session, adding to recent gains. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.4 basis points at 4.264 percent.
U.S. Stocks Give Back Ground Following Early Rebound
2025-02-26 18:35:27
