Wall Street was mostly stronger on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising for a fifth straight day to a new record after the Federal Reserve raised rates as expected and affirmed the view for three more hikes in 2018.
Markets gave back some of the gains in late trading amid skepticism about whether the Fed's views on rate increases will come to pass next year, with the S&P 500 dipping into the red. Still, the tone was mostly positive, as equities were also cheered by reports Republican lawmakers had come to a consensus over tax reform, which would see the corporate rate lowered to 21%.
"As expected, the Fed opted to raise rates amid a recent slew of more positive data suggesting a continued 'solid' pace of growth," said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist with Stifel Economics. "Going forward, however, with inflation still low, additional rate hikes in 2018 may prove fewer than expected."
Financials extended their losses, ending 1.3% lower in the steepest slide among the 11 S&P sectors. The group was weaker through the day after core consumer price inflation, which strips out food and energy, rose by just 0.1% in November, below expectations for a gain of 0.2% and less the 0.2% gain seen in October.
Gains on the blue-chip Dow were led by equipment maker Caterpillar ( CAT ), which rose 3.6% after total machine sales for the three-month rolling period ended in November were up 26% compared to the same period a year ago.
Consumer names were stronger after Goldman Sachs raised earnings estimates and price targets on several components on signs of holiday shopping cheer. Nordstrom ( JWN ) rose 1.2% and Target ( TGT ) gained 2.7% after it acquired same-day delivery startup Shipt for $550 million.
The busy economic agenda continues Thursday with weekly jobless claims, retail sales and the purchasing managers' index composite flash all due. Also, a deal is expected to be announced over an asset sale between Twenty-First Century Fox (FOX, FOXA) and Walt Disney ( DIS ).
Here's where the markets stood by the close:
US MARKETS
Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 80.63 points (+0.33%)
S&P 500 was down 1.20 points (-0.05%)
Nasdaq Composite Index was up 13.48 points (+0.20%)
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
FTSE 100 was down 0.05%
Nikkei 225 was down 0.47%
Hang Seng Index was up 1.49%
Shanghai China Composite Index was up 0.7%
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) STRM (+23.7%) Reported upbeat Q3 results
(+) FNSR (+22.8%) Announced $390 million contract with Apple ( AAPL )
(+) LTEA (+8.57%) Signed reciprocal distribution deal with Europe's Natur
(+) RPXC (+11.26%) Reportedly gets $800 million takeover offer
(+) MELI (+8.07%) Price target raised at Piper Jaffray
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) HMNY (-32.64%) Priced share offering at 36% discount
(-) NAT (-27.79%) Announced $100 million stock offering
(-) MDB (-5.69%) Reported loss of $0.44 per share on $4 million in sales
(-) TIVO (-7.55%) B. Riley FBR downgrades to neutral, cuts price target to $18
(-) RL (-4.00%) Bank of America downgrades to underperform from neutral
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Copyright (C) 2016 MTNewswires.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
