The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 34,930.93 on Wednesday with a loss of 127.59 points or -0.36%. The S&P 500 closed at 4,400.64 for a loss of 0.82 points or -0.02%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 14,762.58 for a gain of 102.01 points or 0.70%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 17.95 for a loss of 1.41 points or -7.28%.
Wednesday’s market movers
The major U.S. indexes closed with mixed returns Wednesday. The Nasdaq reported a gain of 0.70%.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) ended its two-day policy meeting Wednesday afternoon. The Committee held the federal funds rate steady at its current target rate of 0% to 0.25%. It also said that the economy’s progression has led the Fed to begin discussing plans for asset tapering, which could begin by the end of the year. The Fed is currently buying $120 billion in bonds per month.
In other news:
- It was announced that a bipartisan group has reached agreement on major issues involving infrastructure.
- Covid precautions are being reintroduced with the Center for Disease Control now recommending fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors. Federal agencies and some companies are also requiring vaccinations. President Biden is expected to announce that federal employees must get vaccinated.
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index increased 5.7% following a decrease of 4% in the previous week. The MBA’s average 30-year mortgage rate decreased to 3.01% from 3.11%.
- The June goods trade balance showed a deficit of $91.21 billion following a deficit of $88.16 billion.
- Wholesale inventories were up 0.8% in June.
- Retail inventories were up 0.3% in June.
- Crude oil inventory was down 4.1 million barrels, according to the EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
- The Treasury held an auction for two-year notes at a rate of 0.029% .
On the earnings calendar:
- Tilray (TLRY, Financial): Revenue of $142.2 million increased 25.3% year over year and missed estimates by $88.1 million. Fourth-quarter GAAP earnings of 18 cents per share. The stock gained 26%.
- Boeing (BA, Financial): Revenue of $17 billion increased 43.9% year over year and beat estimates by $90 million. Second-quarter GAAP earnings of $1.00 beat estimates by $1.20 and non-GAAP earnings of 40 cents beat estimates by $1.12. The stock gained 4%.
- Pfizer (PFE, Financial): Revenue of $19 billion increased 93% year over year and beat estimates by $270 million. Second-quarter GAAP earnings of 98 cents per share beat estimates by 22 cents and non-GAAP earnings of $1.07 beat estimates by 9 cents. The company is also exploring a third dose or booster, which adds more protection against the Covid Delta variant.
- McDonald's (MCD, Financial): Revenue of $5.89 billion increased 56.6% year over year and beat estimates by $320 million. Second-quarter GAAP earnings of $2.95 beat estimates by 84 cents and non-GAAP earnings of $2.37 beat estimates by 25 cents.
- Facebook (FB, Financial): Revenue of $29.07 billion increased 55.5% year over year and beat estimates by $1.18 billion. Second-quarter GAAP earnings of $3.61 beat estimates by 61 cents.
- PayPal (PYPL, Financial): Revenue of $6.24 billion increased 18.6% year over year and missed estimates by $30 million. Second-quarter GAAP earnings of $1.00 beat estimates by 28 cents and non-GAAP earnings of $1.15 beat estimates by 3 cents.
Across the board:
- Anthera Pharmaceuticals (ANTH, Financial) soared 65.04%.
- Moderna (MRNA, Financial) gained 6.34%.
- Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, Financial) was up 8.18%.
- Alphabet (GOOGL, Financial) increased 3.18%.
- Global X Cannabis ETF (POTX, Financial) climbed 8.50%.
- KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility (KARS, Financial) inched up 3.52%.
- Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP, Financial) declined 0.89%.
- 10-year Treasury ended with a yield of approximately 1.23%.
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 2,225.30 for a gain of 33.47 points or 1.53%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,329.40 for a gain of 10.68 points or 0.81%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 14,967.62 for a gain of 250.95 points or 1.71%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 10,938.45 for a gain of 68.18 points or 0.63%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,680.99 for a gain of 20.41 points or 0.77%; the S&P 100 at 2,023.56 for a loss of 1.84 points or -0.091%; the Nasdaq 100 at 15,018.10 for a gain of 61.13 points or 0.41%; the Russell 3000 at 2,615.88 for a gain of 4.85 points or 0.19%; the Russell 1000 at 2,473.36 for a gain of 2.38 points or 0.096%; the Wilshire 5000 at 45,826.69 for a gain of 56.99 points or 0.12%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 831.05 for a gain of 1.02 points or 0.12%.
