Stocks go nowhere; small caps stumble again
The S&P 500 was little changed on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq 100 moved 0.2% lower and the Russell 2000 slumped 0.9%, taking some air out of what has been a popular “Trump trade.”
Two of Tuesday’s beaten-up S&P 500 sectors — real estate and consumer discretionary — were the best performers today, each up 0.8%. No sector ETF finished with a gain or loss of at least 1%.
10-year Treasury bonds initially rallied after the October US CPI inflation report was in line with expectations, only to sell off again when Dallas Fed chief Lorie Logan suggested that the central bank might not need to deliver too many more rate cuts to stabilize the economy.
Super Micro Computer was the second-worst performer in the S&P 500, tumbling 6.3% after delaying its quarterly report following the resignation of its auditor amid allegations of accounting irregularities.
Boeing tumbled 3.6% after Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said the recent strike at the aerospace company would likely crimp their ability to deliver planes to customers.
Charter Communications rose 3.6% after announcing plans to buy Liberty Broadband in an all-stock deal, consolidating parts of billionaire John Malone’s empire.
A day after hitting its lowest levels since the depth of the March 2020 pandemic-induced market panic, shares of Dollar Tree rebounded with a strong gain of 4.6%.
