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postUS stocks wavered at the start of trading on Wednesday morning after the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) hit its latest record on Tuesday, setting up Wall Street to ride into the Christmas holiday on a high note.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) held flat and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slipped just under the flatline, even as the blue chip-focused Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained roughly 0.1% in the minutes after the opening bell.
Meanwhile, precious metals powered ahead on Wednesday, with gold (GC=F) rising to an all-time high above $4,500 an ounce amid escalating tensions in Venezuela and expectations for more US rate cuts. Silver (SI=F) and platinum (PL=F) also advanced to records, while oil (BZ=F, CL=F) steadied after a run-up through the last few days.
Markets close early on Wednesday for Christmas Eve and are off Thursday for the holiday. Wall Street’s bid for a “Santa Claus” rally is looking hopeful after a fourth day of gains left the S&P 500 at its latest record high, above 6,900.
Wall Street’s tech-led advance came despite new economic data that only served to dampen bets for rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in the near term. US GDP growth stood at 4.3% in the third quarter, according to a first estimate from the government, much higher than forecast as consumer spending held up over the summer.
Economists warn that kind of growth likely won’t continue into the shutdown-filled fourth quarter. Indeed, more recent data found that consumers continue to feel particularly sour on the state of the US economy, with consumer confidence dipping to its lowest level since President Trump’s tariffs rolled out in April.
But the GDP data led investors to trim bets on a January rate cut from the Fed — just more than 13% now expect that outcome. Most traders, however, still expect two rate cuts by the end of next year, as the divisions that defined the central bank this year are likely to persist even with a new chair set to replace Jerome Powell by mid-year.
Trump took issue with the market’s read on the Fed, saying Tuesday he expects the new chair he nominates to lower rates even when Wall Street is doing well.
“I want to have a Market the likes of which we haven’t had in many decades,” he wrote on social media, “a Market that goes up on good news, and down on bad news, the way it should be, and the way it was.”
Investors got one more sign of an economy that is nominally moving in the right direction as unemployment claims fell for the second week in a row, according to data released Wednesday — even as consumer confidence continues to falter.
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US stocks waver as the market opens on Wednesday
US stocks opened Wednesday’s trading session on shaky footing after the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) hit its latest record on Tuesday, setting up Wall Street to ride into the Christmas holiday on a high note.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC), blue chip-focused Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) all held roughly flat, bouncing just over and just under the flatline as investors began trading.
Meanwhile, gold (GC=F) rose to an all-time high above $4,500 an ounce, while silver (SI=F) and platinum (PL=F) also advanced to records. Oil (BZ=F, CL=F) steadied after a run-up through the last few days on tensions in Venezuela.
Intel (INTC) fell by roughly 2.3% in the first minutes of trading after reports that Nvidia (NVDA) paused a test to potentially use Intel’s fabrication process for advanced chips.
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US unemployment claims fall for second week in a row
US unemployment claims fell to 214,000 for the week ended Dec. 20, down 10,000 from the previous week’s 224,000 claims, according to data released Wednesday morning by the Department of Labor.
Economists had expected the number to remain flat at 224,000.
The drop marks the second week of decreasing claims in a row as the four-week moving average fell to 216,750, down 750 from the previous average of 217,500, according to the DOL data.
The data marks a shift from November, when claims reached their highest level since 2020, although the data has often been seasonally volatile. The unemployment rate rose to a four-year high last month, according to the government’s monthly jobs report.
The University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment reading of the year reported that nearly two-thirds of respondents expect unemployment to rise in the year ahead. Data published Tuesday by the Consumer Confidence Board reported similar findings, showing that even as the US economy is nominally doing well — third-quarter GDP grew and inflation has fallen — its consumer confidence index fell 3.8 points to 89.1 in December.
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Intel stock slips after report Nvidia halts testing of 18A process
Intel (INTC) stock fell 3% before the bell on Wednesday after a report showed that AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) will not use Intel’s chip production process.
Investing.com reports:
Read more here.
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Top Treasury official: The Fed should cut rates, even in the face of strong growth
President Trump appeared miffed yesterday when the stock market initially wavered after third quarter GDP growth came in stronger than expected. It looked like a classic “good news is bad news” situation, where investors assumed that the stronger growth would lead to fewer rate cuts from the Federal Reserve next year.
Trump suggested that the Fed chair he appoints to succeed Jerome Powell should cut rates even when economic data shows strength. Joe Lavorgna, a top adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, emphasized this message in an interview with Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger.
From Jennifer’s write-up:
Read more here.
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
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Dynavax soars on $2.2B Sanofi acquisition
Dynavax Technologies (DVAX) jumped 38% on Wednesday before the bell after Sanofi (SNY) announced it will buy the US vaccine company for around $2.2 billion, a deal that will give it access to an approved hepatitis B vaccine.
Reuters reports:
Read more here.
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Copper poised for best year since 2009 after December surge
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UiPath stock rises after inclusion in S&P MidCap 400 index
UiPath Inc. (PATH) stock jumped 7% before the bell on Wednesday after news that the software company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400.
Investing.com reports:
Read more here.
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Gold climbs above $4,500 in historic rally for precious metals
