Investing.com – Wall Street traded with mixed signs on Wednesday as investors digested a slew of news from the financial sector, saw inflation moved higher and waited for remarks from Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Janet Yellen.
At 11:23AM ET (16:23GMT), the Dow Jones slipped 15 points, or 0.08%, the S&P 500 edged forward 2 points, or 0.07%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 5 points, or 0.10%.
Banks grabbed headlines in company news on Wednesday as Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) reported earnings that beat expectations.
The U.S. also put JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) in the spotlight as it sued the bank for alleged mortgage discrimination. Reports indicated that the financial institution will pay a $55 million settlement to the Department of Justice.
In other legal news, State Street Corp (NYSE:STT) will pay more than $64 million to resolve U.S. investigations into what prosecutors said was a scheme to defraud six clients through secret commissions on billions of dollars of trades.
Outside the financial sector, shares in Target (NYSE:TGT) sank 5% after the second largest U.S. retailer cut its guidance for the fourth quarter based on “softer-than-expected” holiday sales.
On the economic front, both headline and core inflation continued to move higher in December, matching expectations and placing pressure on the Fed to move forward with policy tightening.
It was the first time since the second quarter of 2014 that both readings settled above the Fed’s 2% inflation target.
Fed chair Janet Yellen could comment on the data as she is currently scheduled to deliver a speech on monetary policy at 3:00PM ET (20:00GMT).
In other economic data, industrial production increased a more-than-expected 0.6% in December, although manufacturing production missed consensus.
Still ahead, the Fed will release its Beige Book at 2:00PM ET (19:00ET) which gives an overview of economic trends in the central bank’s 12 districts.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell to a one-week low on Wednesday as concern over increases in U.S. production trumped data from OPEC’s monthly report saying that its members pumped 33.085 million barrels per day in December, down 221,000 bpd from November.
Additionally, traders began to for information on U.S. stockpiles as industry group the American Petroleum Institute was set due to release its weekly report at 4:30PM ET (21:30GMT) later on Wednesday.
Official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Thursday, amid forecasts for an oil-stock drop of 960,000 barrels.
The reports come out one day later than usual due to Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
U.S. crude futures lost 0.74% to $52.09 by 11:25AM ET (16:25GMT), while Brent oil traded down 0.67% to $55.10.