4:21pm: Tech weakness drags Wall Street lower
Stocks closed in the red on Wednesday, with technology shares leading the declines as investors sifted through a wave of earnings reports and fresh economic data.
At the close, the S&P 500 slipped 0.4% to finish at 5,999 points, snapping a seven-day winning streak, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.6% at 19,060. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged lower by 0.3% to hit 44,722, retreating after briefly surpassing the 45,000 mark for the first time in its opening minutes.
Shares of major technology companies struggled throughout the day. Nvidia (NVDA), a favorite among AI-focused investors, fell over 1%, while Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Tesla (TSLA) also lost more than 1%. Apple (AAPL) and Meta Platforms (META) saw modest declines, while Alphabet (GOOGL) bucked the trend with a slight gain.
Markets will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving. Trading will resume on Friday with shortened hours, as the stock market will close at 1pm ET and the bond market will shut down at 2pm ET.
3:25pm: Wells Fargo: economic snapshot shows slower growth, stable profitability
Economic data released today offers a detailed view of the US economy’s mixed performance as it transitions between election cycles, Wells Fargo said.
GDP growth for Q3 was confirmed at 2.8%, though shifts in its composition reveal softer consumer spending and stronger business investment in intellectual property. Economy-wide profits dipped $10 billion but remain robust, up 6.1% year-over-year.
Meanwhile, October’s durable goods orders fell, signaling weak capital expenditure trends, with core capital goods shipments declining for a third consecutive month.
Wells Fargo notes that while inflation progress is gradual, a soft landing remains the baseline expectation amid evolving business uncertainty and tariff concerns.
2:10pm: Stocks on the move
Coffee-related stocks were mixed as coffee prices were wafted to their highest since the 1970s on supply worries.
Coffee pod maker Keurig Dr Pepper Inc (NASDAQ:KDP) (Keurig Dr Pepper Inc (NASDAQ:KDP)) shares fell 1% but Nestle S.A. (OTC:NSRGF, VTX:NESN) (Nestle S.A. (OTC:NSRGF, VTX:NESN), Nestle S.A. (OTC:NSRGF, VTX:NESN)) shares were up in Switzerland and on the US OTC.
Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX, ETR:SRB) (Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX, ETR:SRB), Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX, ETR:SRB)) shares rose 0.6% but J M Smucker Co (NYSE:SJM) (J M Smucker Co (NYSE:SJM)) fell 0.5%.
Arabica coffee futures on the ICE rose 5.3% to $3.288 a pound, not far from the all-time record of $3.356.
Shares in Symbotic Inc plunged 33% on Wednesday after the robotic warehouse developer warned that its results last week were wrongly inflated by "errors" in how milestone payments were recognised, with coming quarterly earnings also likely to be affected.
The company, which has won contracts from retailer clients including Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT, ETR:WMT) (Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT, ETR:WMT)), Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) (Target Corp (NYSE:TGT)) and Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI), said its financial results would need to be restated.
12:32pm: Dell, Nvidia lead losses
Stocks fell by midday Wednesday as inflation data showed limited progress toward the Federal Reserve's 2% target.
The S&P 500 dropped 0.5%, the Dow slipped 0.1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq shed nearly 1.1%.
The core Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.3% in October, in line with expectations, while annual core inflation ticked up to 2.8% from 2.7% in September.
Tech stocks weighed heavily on the Nasdaq, with Nvidia (NVDA) down over 3% and Dell (DELL) sliding more than 10% after earnings revealed uneven AI spending trends.
Markets are set to close Thursday for Thanksgiving, with early closure on Friday.
11:35am: Dow reaches new milestone
The Dow crossed the 45,000 point level for the first time Wednesday as equities benefit from renewed investor optimism.
The new milestone comes just a month after the index breached the 44,000 mark, IG's Chris Beauchamp noted.
Other indices haven't been as lucky this week, the analyst added.
Beauchamp observed that further declines in the semiconductor index have affected the Nasdaq, and indications of stabilizing core PCE are raising concerns among investors that the Fed may need to pause its easing policy sooner than anticipated.
The tech-heavy index was down around 0.9% near the midway point of trading Wednesday.
10.31am: US inflation back on the rise
US inflation is rising once again, according to the latest data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.
On an annual basis, the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) inflation rate, which is the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, increased to 2.3%, up from the three-year low of 2.1% reported in September.
Similarly, the core inflation rate increased to 2.8% from 2.7% year-on-year.
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis partially attributed the rise to base effects from the prior year, although the broader trend of slowing disinflation is expected to persist.
On a month-on-month basis, service prices rose by 0.4% in October, while goods prices decreased 0.1%.
Food prices were unchanged and energy prices decreased 0.1%.
9.43am: Nasdaq 100 plunges
The Nasdaq 100 plunged 120 points to 20,805, wiping nearly 0.6% from the tech-focused index, when US markets commenced trading this Wednesday.
Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI) is once again dragging the index with a 10% fall, while Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, ETR:INL) is off 3.3% and Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD, ETR:J5A) 2.8%.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced 0.15% higher to 44,925, while the broader S&P 500 index is down 0.1% to 6,015.
Despite the mixed open, the latest US GDP data showed a resilient economy in the third quarter with economic growth hitting the 2.8% forecast.
Markets are now awaiting inflation data due later today.
8.43am: US economic growth matches forecasts
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis has reported that real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualized rate of 2.8% in the third quarter of 2024.
This matches prior forecasts and follows a 3% increase in the second quarter.
GDP growth was driven by higher consumer spending, exports, federal government spending, and nonresidential fixed investment.
However, the pace of expansion slowed due to declines in private inventory investment and residential fixed investment.
In current-dollar terms, GDP rose by 4.7%, amounting to $29.35 trillion, reflecting an upward revision of $4.4 billion from the previous estimate.
The price index for gross domestic purchases increased by 1.9%, up slightly from the earlier projection.
6.37am: Stocks to drop
Wall Street looked on course for a negative start on Wednesday as traders braced for personal consumption expenditure (PCE) figures for October.
Futures had the Nasdaq down 0.4% ahead of the opening bell, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones were seen 0.2% and 0.1% lower respectively.
Core PCE, which is considered the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, is expected to have ticked up by 0.3% between September and October and by 2.8% on an annual basis, against 2.7% previously.
Given this would be ahead of Fed forecasts, Tickmill Group partner Patrick Munnelly said, the rise would support expectations for interest rates to be held next month.
“Disinflation appears to have stopped according to recent forecasts,” Munnelly noted, “however, markets believe the Fed still views policy settings as too restrictive”.
A second estimate for third-quarter gross domestic product was also on the cards on Wednesday, alongside the likes of initial jobless claims figures.