4:15pm: Nasdaq, S&P avoid losses
The Dow closed Wednesday down 69 points, 0.2%, at 33,550, while the Nasdaq Composite added 29 points, 0.2%, to 13,093 and the S&P 500 ticked up 1 point to 4,275. The small-cap Russell 2000 index added 16 points, 0.9%, to 1,778.
The indexes say an upswing in the afternoon that was enough to lift the Nasdaq and S&P 500 out of the red, a day after the latter dipped below the key 4,300 level for the first time since June.
Meanwhile, the 10-year US Treasury yield edged 6 basis points higher to its highest level since 2007.
“Inflation remains the big concern,” said Greg Bassuk, CEO of AXS Investments. “Investors have been very anxious about not only the elevated rate, but how that impacts companies with the higher borrowing costs.”
12:00pm: Stocks fade as oil price jumps
US stocks failed to hold onto early gains, resuming their downward path, as the rising oil price reignited inflationary concerns.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 137.38 points, 0.4%, at 33,481.50, the S&P 500 was down 9.15 points, 0.2%, at 4,264.38 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 14.65 points, 0.1%, at 13,048.96.
Chris Beauchamp at online trading platform IG said: "The latest consolidation in oil prices seems to have run its course, with both Brent and WTI making solid gains."
"It makes no sense to stand in the way of oil’s rally, since there is no indication of any increases in supply from key producers, and economic data continues to support the idea of more growth.”
WTI jumped 3.8% to $93.72 giving Exxon Mobil and Chevron a boost but elsehwere the mood was downbeat.
Leading tech names, Amazon, Microsoft and Tesla all fell as the inflationary threat from rising energy costs was seen supporting the higher, for longer mantra on interest rates.
9:40am: Tech stocks lead rally on Wall Street
US stocks opened higher, led by technology plays, boosted by a positive economic reading which helped recover some of yesterday's heavy falls.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 44.03 points, 0.1%, at 33,662.91, the S&P 500 was up 16.89 points, 0.4%, at 4,290.42 while the Nasdaq Composite was up 52.28 points, 0.4%, at 13,115.88.
Craig Erlam at Oanda said: "Equity markets are pretty flat in the middle of the week, struggling to pick themselves up off the floor as investors worry about higher for longer interest rates and the economy."
"Last week was action-packed and it seems investors are still piecing it all together in the absence of much else happening."
New orders for manufactured durable goods in the US unexpectedly increased month-on-month in August, according to data from the US Census Bureau.
New orders for manufactured durable goods increased by $500 million, or 0.2%, to $284.7 billion in August, following a 5.6% decrease in new orders in July, according to revised figures.
According to FXStreet-cited consensus, new orders were expected to fall by 0.5% in August.
But Kieran Clancy at Pantheon Macroeconomics noted the "upside surprise in the August headline is mostly offset by downward revisions to previous months' data, in yet another reminder that the advance data should be interpreted with caution."
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) shares fell 0.6% despite reporting a solid start to its financial year, and registering double-digit profit growth on strong demand.
"We are off to a strong start for fiscal 2024," Chief Executive Officer John Gibson said.
For 1Q, it reported a 7% year-over-year jump in revenue from $1.20 billion to $1.29 billion. This narrowly beat the Street estimate of $1.28 billion, per Zacks Consensus Estimate.
7:00am: Bright start expected on Wall Street
It should be a brighter start on Wall Street after heavy losses on Tuesday which followed new home sales and consumer confidence data missing economists’ estimates.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.2% higher, while those for the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.3%.
The weakness in consumer confidence comes as the US government is still days away from a potential government shutdown, unless Congress can agree to pass funding beyond September 30.
Deutsche Bank noted “a bipartisan deal has emerged in the Senate, which would keep the government open until mid-November.”
“However, it’s uncertain as to whether that would be brought to a vote in the Republican-controlled House, and Speaker McCarthy said that he’d put a different stopgap funding measure on the floor this week, saying that a vote would probably be on Friday,” it added.
“If there is a shutdown, that could affect several upcoming data releases depending on how long it lasted, including the September jobs report on October 6,” Deutsche speculated.
Today sees figures for orders for durable goods, or products that last more than one year, which are expected to have slipped 0.5% in August after falling 5.2% in July, their largest drop since 2020.
Elsewhere, payrolls company Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) will issue its earnings report before the bell, followed by a highly-anticipated quarterly release from Micron Technology after the close.