4:05pm: US stocks slide at the close
The main US indices gave back any gains seen earlier in the week after oil nearly touched the $115 a barrel mark -- a sign that inflationary pressures are far from over.
At the close, the Dow was down 449 points at 34,359, a loss of 1.3%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.2% at 4,456 and the Nasdaq sank 1.3% at 13,923.
12.05 pm: US benchmarks falter as surging energy prices spark inflation fears
US stocks were mixed in noon trading as investors feared the inflationary impact of higher oil prices.
At midday, the Dow fell 252 points to 34,556, while the S&P 500 eased 15 points at 4,497 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 26 points to 14,135.
“Markets are still trying to find their footing,” Cresset Capital chief investment officer Jack Ablin said.
“It’s very difficult to try to gauge how the higher interest rates will impact inflation, the economy and earnings growth, and then you add on top of it a war that’s constraining,” Ablin added.
Notable movers included shares of General Mills, which gained nearly 3% after the food maker reported better-than-expected 3Q financial results and raised its full-year outlook.
11.30am: Proactive North America headlines:
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One World Lithium licenses lithium-related patents from the US Department of Energy's National Energy Laboratory
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BioSig Technologies completes its previously announced underwritten public offering for proceeds of $3 million
Marvel Discovery forms two new subsidiaries to streamline Canadian resource and technology portfolio
Golden Tag Resources hits high-grade silver equivalent mineralization at its San Diego project in Mexico
Blue Sky Uranium says it has completed Ivana deposit drill program at Argentina project
Chariot tipped to add material shareholder value as transition strategy delivers
NorthWest Copper (TSX-V:NWST) announces first phase of 2022 exploration plans on its 100%-owned project portfolio in British Columbia
ElectraMeccanica (NASDAQ:SOLO) sees 2021 revenue surge on initial sales of SOLO electric cars
Canntab Therapeutics inks affiliate deal with independent pharmacy owners in Ontario
BioHarvest Sciences says it has produced cannabis biomass in large-scale industrial bioreactors
Universal Ibogaine appoints Julie Dumouchel to lead clinical trial and related projects of ibogaine-centered addiction treatment
Golden Minerals boosts revenue and reduces losses in fiscal 2021
Nextech AR reports record revenue revenue for 2021; enjoys uptick in customer adoption of its technology
9.43am: US stocks under pressure at bell
US indices started under pressure midweek as markets fretted over inflationary pressures amid the Ukraine war and crude prices rose again.
In New York early deals, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost almost 167 points to stand at 34,640.
The S&P 500 fell around 24 points at 4,487.
The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost around 107 points at 14,001.
US benchmark crude (West Texas Intermediate) added around 2% to go to over US$113 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, advanced over 5% to more than US$120 a barrel.
Nevertheless, stock markets have been on a run recently. The S&P 500 is only 5% off its record high and all three US benchmarks are on pace to close the month ahead.
6.25am: US stocks set for early retreat
US stocks look set for an early retreat on Wednesday, while a sell-off in government bonds stabilses, as investors await further updates on the Russian war against Ukraine.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index both fell 0.2%, while contracts for the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 lost 0.3%.
US stock indexes rose on Tuesday as investors shrugged aside worries that inflation will push the nation’s economy into a recession following comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell about an acceleration in the pace of interest rate rises. This had caused a sharp fall in US government bond prices while, conversely, yields rose to levels not seen since May 2019.
Stock markets seemed to have turned a corner in recent days, despite anxieties about mounting inflation and the war in Ukraine. The recent rally has come even as Russia’s attacks on Ukraine intensify and Western countries continue to pile on sanctions.
Crude prices have swung between gains and losses in choppy trading this week as investors weigh the likelihood of a European Union-wide ban on the purchase of Russian oil.
Richard Hunter, head of Markets at interactive investor, commented: “Markets continue on a tentative road to recovery, with investors still buying the dips on what have been considered to be oversold sectors.
"At the same time, the gruelling task of balancing interest rate and inflation considerations remains near the top of the investment agenda. The Federal Reserve has now signalled that a more aggressive round of tightening may be on the cards, which has elevated expectations for a 0.5% rise at the next meeting in May."
He added: "Inflationary pressures clearly remain, however, and a first-quarter reporting season which will kick off in the next few weeks has already been marked down in terms of expectations as the factors of supply chain blockages, rising prices generally and a cautious consumer may have affected revenues and profits. In the meantime, the oil price continues to be strong on concerns around tight global supplies as a result of the Russia Ukraine conflict and is currently ahead by 49% in the year to date."
"Despite the generally positive moves over the last few trading sessions, the main indices still have some way to go to offset 2022 declines, where the Dow Jones remains down by 4.2%, the S&P500 by 5.3% and the Nasdaq by 9.8%," Hunter concluded.
On the corporate front, in pre-market trading shares of GameStop climbed 11% after the company’s chairman, Ryan Cohen, disclosed his firm bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock on Tuesday. Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings, which tend to move in correlation with GameStop, added 6.5%.
Meanwhile, shares of Adobe dropped 3% after the software company reported higher profit and better-than-expected revenue growth Tuesday, but said it expects a hit to annual revenue from the war in Ukraine.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com