Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

S&P 500 edges lower in volatile trade, while dollar drops to 2-week low

Published 02/09/2021, 07:21 PM
Updated 02/10/2021, 01:56 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A man stands on an overpass with an electronic board showing Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes in Shanghai

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A man stands on an overpass with an electronic board showing Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes in Shanghai

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 was down slightly in volatile trading while MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe was barely higher on Wednesday, pausing after recent gains, while the dollar dropped to two-week lows.

Major U.S. stock indexes hit record highs at the opening before losing gains.

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) shares were up 7.8%, a day after the company beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly sales and profit and followed its social media peers to forecast a strong start to 2021 as ad spending rebounds from a rock bottom.

Bets on more fiscal aid have powered Wall Street's main indexes to a series of all-time peaks recently, with investors moving into sectors such as energy, banks and industrials that are poised to benefit from a recovering economy.

President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he agreed with a proposal by Democratic lawmakers that would send $1,400 stimulus checks to Americans earning up to $75,000 and households making up to $150,000.

Earnings contributed to earlier optimism in equities markets, with French bank Societe Generale (OTC:SCGLY) among those beating fourth-quarter profit expectations.

"Although visibility isn't great into the future, the analysts are extrapolating that into higher earnings throughout this year than may be what folks had feared six months ago," said Eric Marshall, portfolio manager and head of research at Hodges Capital Management in Dallas.

Executives from Robinhood, Melvin Capital and Citadel Securities are expected to testify before a U.S. House of Representatives panel at a Feb. 18 hearing exploring trading turmoil in GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) and other stocks, according to a Reuters report citing two sources familiar with the matter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.56 points, or 0%, to 31,377.39, the S&P 500 lost 5.69 points, or 0.15%, to 3,905.54 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 56.23 points, or 0.4%, to 13,951.47.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.25% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.13%.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, consolidated recent gains on Wednesday, trading 3.7% lower at $44,799. It hit a new high of $48,216 on Tuesday following Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)'s disclosure of a $1.5 billion investment in the virtual currency.

In the foreign exchange market, the dollar index fell 0.13%, with the euro up 0.12% to $1.2131.

The dollar was weighed down by U.S. data showing tepid inflation.

Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields also tumbled, as the U.S. data showed that inflation stayed benign in January, disappointing investors betting that price pressures would increase more.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index increased 0.3% last month after climbing a revised 0.2% in December.

Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 4/32 in price to yield 1.1431%, from 1.157% late on Tuesday.

Oil rose, extending its rally for a ninth day, its longest winning streak in two years, supported by producer supply cuts and hopes vaccine rollouts will drive a recovery in demand.

© Reuters. The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt

Brent crude was up 30 cents, or 0.5%, at $61.39 after touching a 13-month high of $61.61 earlier in the session. U.S. crude was up 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $58.57, having touched $58.76, also a 13-month high.

Latest comments

simple question, who is buying?
Reflation? With 10 yr T-bonds at 1.6 %? Crazy.
Nice Try again Reuters
Reflation! Chinese New Year celebration with ample cash to buy more assets!
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.