Wall Street Wavers, Nvidia Resumes Losses, Tesla Eyes 4-Month High Close, Amazon Hits $2 Trillion Value: What's Driving Markets Wednesday?

Wall Street experienced a mixed session on Wednesday, as investors adopted a cautious stance following Tuesday’s gains while awaiting key economic data releases later this week, including the Fed’s preferred inflation report due on Friday.

At noon in New York, major U.S. averages traded flat, showing a lack of direction. Notably, 10 out of 11 sectors in the S&P 500 were in the red, with consumer discretionary being the only sector to post gains. Small caps fell by 0.3%, while blue chips edged up by 0.1%.

The semiconductor industry failed to continue its rebound, as the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX dropped 1%, with Nvidia Corp. NVDA down 2%.

Treasury yields rose, particularly at the long end of the curve, with both 10-year and 30-year yields increasing by 5-6 basis points, as traders slightly trimmed bets on a September rate cut.

The dollar gained further traction against a basket of major currencies, with the U.S. dollar index (DXY) eyeing its highest close since April 30.

Notably, the dollar-yen pair rose past 160, marking the weakest level for the Japanese currency since December 1987, as traders continued to test Bank of Japan’s policies.

Commodities were softer overall, with gold retracing 0.9% amid higher yields and a stronger greenback, natural gas dropping 2.7%, while oil prices edged up by only 0.2%.

Bitcoin BTC/USD was 1% lower at $61,150, failing to sustain Tuesday’s 2.5% rise.

Wednesday’s Performance In US Major Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was flat at $544.86.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA was 0.1% higher to $391.47.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (ARCA: QQQ) was 0.1% higher to $479.66.
• Sector-wise, the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY outperformed, up by 1.4%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE lagged, falling 0.9%.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• Tesla Inc. TSLA rose 3.8% eyeing the highest close since March 1. Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro initiated coverage on Tesla late Tuesday with a Buy rating, setting a price target of $265.
• Amazon.com Inc. also rallied 3.8% to $220, reaching the $2 trillion market valuation mark. Bank of America raised price target on the retail giant from $210 to $220.
• Rivian Automotive Inc. RIVN soared 20% after German automaker Volkswagen AG announced a $5 billion investment on a joint venture.
• Carnival Corp. CCL rallied over 3% after several analysts raised their price target on the cruise line.
• FedEx Corp. FDX skyrocketed over 14% on its strongest session in two years, reacting to positive quarterly results.
• Other companies reacting to earnings were Progress Software Corp. PRGS, up over 8%, Paychex Inc. PAYX, down 5.6% and General Mills Inc. GIS, down 4.6%.
• Large-cap companies slated to report earnings after the close include Micron Technologies Inc. MU, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. JEF and Levi Strauss & Co. LEVI.

Read now: Elon Musk Could Sell At Least 100,000 New Lower-Cost Models Next Year: ‘Tesla Has Over 50% Share Of The US EV Market’

Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.