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The Dow made a 16-point gain, but most of the shares in the S&P 500 fell. The giant Tesla’s shares in electric vehicles are still in a bear market.
Shares were mixed on Wednesday, but didn’t move much. The market has really taken off and many stocks are taking a breather.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
rose 16.02 points, or 0.05%, and closed at 33,446.26, after spending much of the day in the red. The
S&P 500
Added 6.01 points, or 0.15%, to end at 4,079.95, while the
Nasdaq Composite
fell 9.54 points, or 0.07%, to close at 13,688.84. The biggest gain in the S&P 500 was
L brands
(ticker: LB), the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, which saw its stock rise 3.7% after an analyst upgrade.
Meanwhile, ultra-growth stocks were hammered.
Tesla
(TSLA) Shares Still In A Bear Market After Setting A Record In January; Shares of the electric vehicle giant fell 3% on Wednesday. Shares of video conference giant
Zoom video communication
(ZM), down more than 40% from its all-time high in October, fell another 2%. The rise in longer-term interest rates is negatively affecting these stocks as companies expect most of their profits to be long-term and their current valuations are vulnerable to higher interest rates.
However, stocks of more mature growth companies performed well.
Apple
(AAPL),
Facebook
(FB), and
Alphabet
(GOOGL) rose 1.3%, 2.3% and 1.3%, respectively. The
Nasdaq 100,
an index comprising large-cap technology stocks rose 0.28%.
Equities are pricing in a lot of good news as fiscal stimulus and reopenings help the economy move forward. In the past 30 days, including Wednesday’s performance, the Dow and S&P 500 are up 5% and more than 6% respectively. Stock valuations are rich, while interest rates have risen, making stocks less attractive than bonds. And the rally has pushed up many sectors – meaning stocks have a downside; According to data from Canaccord Genuity, 86% of S&P 500 stocks traded above their 50-day moving average on Tuesday. Wednesday’s weakness was nearly as wide as the market’s rise; According to data from FactSet, 61% of shares in the S&P 500 are down.
All of this comes without any material developments or changes in the economic outlook. Trillions of dollars in fiscal stimulus are already in circulation. President Joe Biden’s $ 2 trillion infrastructure plan doesn’t contain many positive surprises. The Federal Reserve responded Tuesday afternoon, but did not announce anything new. The earnings season for the first quarter has not yet begun, although investors will focus on the results and guidance when companies start reporting.
As for the Fed, stocks didn’t even respond to the mostly positive reports from the central bank, suggesting they are far from cheap. The Fed was not quick to hint at higher interest rates. “There does not seem to be any hidden interest in higher rates, suggesting rates will indeed remain low until unemployment falls to pre-pandemic levels,” Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network, wrote in an e-mail. mail to the press. Even with that background, stocks couldn’t get much traction on the day.
“Investors may have their sights set on what will be the next catalyst to move stocks, as the market has almost flattened out this week – not a bad thing as we are at record highs,” Mike Loewengart, investment strategy director at E * Trade, wrote in an email.
Write to Jacob Sonenshine at [email protected]