A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on December 13, 2023, to project Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's press conference after the Fed's interest rate announcement.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
Stocks fell in light trading on Wednesday as investors hedged on risk after November's big rally.
of S&P500 It will drop by 0.4%, ending its seven-day winning streak. of Nasdaq Composite It decreased by 0.6%. of Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell 92 points, or 0.2%, despite gaining more than 140 points at the session high.
Traders appear to be taking profits in big technology stocks, which have performed well for most of this year, which could explain the Nasdaq's poor performance. NvidiaThe stock soared more than 168% in 2024, but fell more than 3% during the session. meta platform This year, it rose by about 60% before falling by about 1%.
Elsewhere in technology, Dell and HP Both have since fallen more than 12%. provide Weak earnings guidance.
These developments followed the release of the latest Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index (PCE) on Wednesday morning. The Fed's gauge of inflation rose 0.2% in October, or 2.3% on an annualized basis, in line with expectations of economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The so-called core index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% month-on-month and 2.8% year-on-year, also in line with consensus expectations.
“No matter how bumpy the road, today's data should not change our view of a likely path towards disinflation,” said David Alkery, chief macroeconomic strategist at Lazard Asset Management. . “But many observers, including perhaps some at the Fed, are looking for reasons to be more hawkish about the outlook given the possibility of new tariffs or other changes in inflation policy.”
The US has a shortened trading week this week, with markets dark on Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday, with trading set to close early Friday. Trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange was less than half its normal daily pace.
Still, it was a remarkable week with the Dow and S&P 500 rising to record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently on track to end the week up 1.4%, while the S&P 500 is on track to rise 0.4%. Following Wednesday's decline, the Nasdaq Composite Index is down about 0.2% for the week.
This week marks the end of a November trading period that has been defined by the post-election backlash that saw President-elect Donald Trump win. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been on track to rise more than 7% in November. maximum monthly profit The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each rose more than 5%.
