U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, trying to find support after higher-than-expected inflation data sparked a sell-off and dashed hopes of interest rate cuts before the summer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.4%, recovering from a 500-point decline and the blue-chip benchmark's worst day since March 2022. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained about 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained more than 0.7% – also after sharp declines.
Calm is returning after surprising consumer inflation unsettled the market. Investors fear that the Federal Reserve will delay interest rate cuts until the end of the year – and that the US economy may not land.
Read more: What the Fed's rate decision means for bank accounts, CDs, loans and credit cards
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) rose slightly in morning trading after the price-sensitive tech megacap slumped amid the stock crisis. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) fell slightly from the previous day's jump to around 4.28%.
Comments from Fed officials Austan Goolsbee and Michael Barr during their appearances later in the day could add fuel to the pervasive debate over interest rate targeting.
A new wave of earnings reports could also provide a boost, with Cisco (CSCO), Kraft Heinz (KHC) and Warren Buffett-affiliated Occidental (OXY) among the big winners on the list.
Investors were reeling from the wild fallout from a typo in Lyft's (LYFT) financial update late Tuesday. Shares of the ride-hailing company initially shot up 67%, but the rally lost steam after Lyft corrected an error in its statement that boosted its profit outlook. The stock remained up in morning trading with a more modest gain of 30%.
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- Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 10:05 a.m. CST
Trend ticker in morning trading
Earnings and stock buybacks dominate Yahoo Finance's trending ticker page Wednesday morning.
Lyft (LYFT) stock rose more than 30% after the company beat earnings expectations following its IPO on Tuesday evening. Shares were up over 60% in after-hours trading due to a reporting error in the company's announcement. Lyft originally said it expected profit margins to increase by 500 basis points. It later revised the figure to 50 basis points and the stock pared gains.
Uber (UBER) shares rose nearly 13% to hit an all-time high after the company announced a $7 billion share buyback program.
Robinhood (HOOD) shares rose nearly 10% after the trading platform reported better-than-expected quarterly results. Robinhood's earnings per share of $0.03 surprised Wall Street analysts, who had forecast the company to post a loss of about $0.01.
Shares of Upstart Holdings (UPST) plunged more than 20% after the company's revenue forecast for the current quarter fell short of Wall Street estimates. Upstart expects revenue of about $125 million for the current quarter, below analyst expectations of about $152 million.
Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 9:33 a.m. CST
Stocks are showing resilience after Tuesday's decline
Stocks suffered their worst day of 2024 on Tuesday as a hotter-than-expected inflation report unsettled investors.
But with stocks at record highs, many Wall Street strategists pointed to signs of resilience on a day when the Dow Jones (^DJI) was up more than 500 points and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up about 1.4% fell.
Perhaps most notably, stocks haven't fallen off a cliff. The S&P 500 avoided a 2% daily decline not seen since February 2023. The Russell 2000 (^RUT) found support around its 50-day moving average, a key technical factor, according to CMT chief strategist Jay Wald.
Woods told Yahoo Finance he expects the weakness to continue today, but instead the market has been “resilient.”
Less than 12 hours after sentiment soured on the Federal Reserve's rate cuts yesterday, stocks are rallying, with the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gaining nearly 1%.
Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat, said in a note to clients that it was “too early” to call a market peak for the first quarter of 2024.
“We would look for a top that is more like a 'stock sell on good news,' meaning we get great macro.” [economic] data point, and stocks are selling off,” Lee wrote.
Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 8:35 a.m. CST
Stocks rebound after tough Tuesday
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, trying to find support after higher-than-expected inflation data sparked a sell-off and dashed hopes of interest rate cuts before the summer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.4%, a rebound for the blue-chip index after a 500-point decline and its worst day since March 2022. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose around 0.6% to The Nasdaq Composite gained more than 0.7% – also after sharp declines.
Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 9:33 a.m. CST
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