- Dow Jones finishes 38 points higher
- S&P 500 & Nasdaq both down
- Dollar Tree slips 14% on poor results
4:15pm: Tech weakness drives S&P 500 lower
Stocks had a mixed Wednesday, with the S&P 500's record-breaking streak momentarily halted as several tech giants faced declines.
While the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1% to finish at 39,043 points, the S&P 500 dipped around 0.2% at 5,165, and the Nasdaq Composite endured steeper losses, falling over 0.5% to close at 16,178.
Despite Tuesday's gains and the S&P 500 reaching a new record, concerns lingered about February's higher-than-expected core consumer inflation, potentially impacting the Federal Reserve's stance on interest rates. Investors await Thursday's wholesale inflation and retail sales data for further insight.
12:53pm: Wall Street mixed as Dollar Tree takes a tumble
Wall Street is having a mixed day of trading with the Dow Jones the only one of the three lead indexes to have lifted.
At lunch, the Dow Jones was up around 155 points to 39,159, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 dropped around 75 and 3 points respectively.
While Nvidia shares are down around 3%, one of the biggest fallers has been budget retailer Dollar Tree, which dropped around 14% after it said it plans to shutter around 1,000 stores.
600 of its Family Dollar stores are expected to close in the first half of the year before a further 370 close in the latter six months, the group revealed on Wednesday.
Dan Coatsworth at AJ Bell said: “Dollar Tree has succeeded in getting more people through its doors but customers are spending less per visit. That’s created a problem for the company’s earnings and is a perfect illustration of how sticky inflation and high interest rates are causing more consumers to think twice about how and where they spend money.
“While everyone is focused on the Federal Reserve and when it might cut rates, the downturn in US consumer spending is playing out right in front of our eyes. It could take several rate cuts before we see any widespread change in consumer habits.”
10:10am: US stocks see mixed open as Nvidia slips
US stocks have started Wednesday with a mix of rises and falls, following on from Tuesday's session in which the S&P 500 hit a new high.
The Dow Jones is the only index to have begun the day ahead, with it edging 45 points higher to around 38,769.
Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are down, with the former slipping by 65 points or 0.4% and the latter dropping by 5 points or 0.1%.
Nvidia shares have slipped around 3%, while Meta and Apple have also ticked lower.
DollarTree is down around 13% after it said it would be closing 1,000 US stores as its suffered a quarterly loss.
600 of its Family Dollar stores are expected to close in the first half of the year, the group revealed on Wednesday.
8:38am: US markets set for mixed open
Wall Street has been tipped for a mixed start on Wednesday, with tech stocks seen as a drag despite another record-setting session the day before.
Ahead of the opening bell, the Dow Jones was trading modestly above flat on futures markets, while the S&P 500 was just below the flat-line, with tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.21%.
Nvidia and Tesla were among the larger tech fallers in pre-market trading, though Apple, Alphabet and Meta Platforms have small declines indicated.
The AI Act, described as the world's first comprehensive set of laws regulating artificial intelligence, has been approved by the European Parliament.
The first obligations in the AI Act will come into force this year and others over the next three years, legal experts said.
Elsewhere, the Intel Corp shares edged 2% lower pre-market after it was revealed the Pentagon had pulled out of plans to provide a US$2.5 billion chip grant to the technology giant.
Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN), one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, said it is planning on raising US$1 billion through convertible bonds, echoing a similar strategy to bitcoin holder MicroStrategy.
Unsecured convertible senior notes will be offered via a private offering and will be available to be turned into shares in 2030, the listed group revealed. The shares fell 2%.