NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ended mostly higher on Wall Street Wednesday after a lackluster day of trading with major technology stocks once again acting as a heavy weight on the market.
The S&P 500 rose 6.29 points, or 0.1%, to 4,981.80. The benchmark index spent much of the day losing territory before climbing higher just before markets closed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose slightly after losing ground for most of the day. It rose 48.44 points, or 0.1%, to 38,612.24.
The Nasdaq technology index fell 49.91 points, or 0.3%, to 15,580.87.
Profits remain the big focus for Wall Street. After markets closed, Nvidia reported earnings and revenue that slightly beat Wall Street estimates. The chip maker has tripled in size over the past year thanks to a surge in investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence.
Palo Alto Networks was a big loser and a particularly heavy weight in the technology sector. The network security company sank 28.4% after giving forecasts for future payments that were well below analysts’ expectations. Rival Fortinet fell 3.8%.
Amazon rose 0.9% after announcing it would be added to the Dow. Walgreens Boots Alliance, which is leaving the Dow, fell 2.5%
Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.33 percent from 4.28 percent late Tuesday.
Tech stocks contributed much of the market’s rally, which took it to record highs just last week. The sector is also showing some of the strongest revenue growth. However, uneven contributions from some of the sector’s larger companies have raised questions about whether the gains were overstated.
“In February, we’re seeing some of that settle down as we try to get a better forecast of how the full year is going to play out,” said Rob Howarth, senior portfolio manager at US Bank Wealth Management.
Several other companies made big moves following the release of their financial results. Electronic measurement technology company Keysight Technologies fell 6.7% after its profit forecast missed analysts’ expectations. Garmin, which makes personal navigation devices, jumped 8.8 percent after beating profit estimates.
Toll Brothers rose 3.9% after giving investors an encouraging financial update as it sees strong demand. That helped support gains in the housing sector.
Energy companies gained ground after natural gas prices jumped 12.5%. Exxon Mobil rose 2%.
The Federal Reserve released minutes from its last meeting in January, showing that most officials are wary of moving too quickly to cut their benchmark interest rate. The central bank left interest rates alone for the fourth time in a row at this meeting. Investors have all but given up hope that the central bank will cut rates at its March meeting and expect the first rate cut to come in June.
Investors should wait until next week for other key inflation data. That’s when the government will release its monthly report on personal consumption and spending, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation. The central bank’s aim is to tame inflation back to 2% and analysts expect this report to show it cooled to 2.3% in January. Inflation by this indicator peaked at 7.1% in June 2022.
“As long as the labor market holds up, the Fed can afford to hold off on gradual rate cuts,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group. “Fighting inflation is much easier when the labor market cooperates.”
Separate measures of consumer and wholesale prices in January showed that inflation did not cool as much as expected. This prompted investors to shift their expectations for a rate cut from March to June. The weak retail sales report added to disappointing inflation data and raised concerns that stubborn inflation is causing more pain for consumers. Tighter consumer spending could put more pressure on businesses in 2024.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that stocks ended mostly lower and the S&P 500 fell 6.29 points. The S&P 500 rose 6.29 points.
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