The three major U.S. stock indices ended the day with mixed results on Wednesday.
Investor sentiment hit as the January U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) surpassed expectations.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified before the House Financial Services Committee. He emphasized that while he doesn’t fixate on short-term data, January’s CPI figures indicate the Fed still has significant ground to cover in reaching its 2% inflation target.
The stock market turned bearish as hopes for further interest rate cuts weakened.
Ironically, the tech-heavy Nasdaq, typically most sensitive to interest rate forecasts, was the only major index with a modest gain.
Meanwhile, Tesla rebounded after a six-day slump, while Meta Platforms extended its winning streak to 18 consecutive sessions.
Nasdaq Rebounds After One Day
Among the three major indices, only the Nasdaq managed to show a slight increase.
Despite a brief downturn just before the market closed, the Nasdaq finished 6.09 points (0.03%) at 19,649.95.
In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 225.09 points (0.50%) to close at 44,368.56, while the S&P 500 dropped 16.53 points (0.27%) to 6,051.97.
After a three-day winning streak, the Dow and S&P 500 declined for the first time.
Meta’s Remarkable 18-Day Rally
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has posted gains for 18 straight trading days since January 17.
Meta climbed $5.58 (0.78%) to $725.38, setting new all-time highs for 15 consecutive sessions since January 23.
Since January 17, Meta has surged 18.7%, bringing its year-to-date gains to nearly 24%.
Tesla managed to snap its six-day losing streak.
Although its fundamentals remain unchanged, the rebound is likely due to the perception that the previous decline was excessive. Due to bargain hunting, Tesla shares jumped $8.01 (2.44%) to close at $336.51.
Apple extended its two-day winning streak, climbing $4.25 (1.83%) to $236.87. It has now risen for three consecutive sessions this week.
News of Alibaba’s AI developments in China has fueled optimism for a potential rebound in iPhone sales in the country.
Nvidia, however, fell for the second straight day, dropping $1.66 (1.25%) to close at $131.14.
Quantum Computing Stocks Rebound
Quantum computing stocks, which had recently faced sharp declines, rebounded.
While IonQs saw modest gains of less than 1%, the other major stocks in the sector posted significant rebounds.
Rigetti surged $0.73 (6.62%) to $11.75, Quantum Computing jumped $0.39 (4.96%) to $8.26, and D-Wave skyrocketed $0.71 (13.32%) to $6.04.
IonQ spiked $1.63 (4.32%) to $39.33 intraday but gave back most of its gains. It ultimately closed up $0.30 (0.80%) at $38.00.
Despite the day’s gains, IonQ remains down 9% year-to-date.
International Oil Prices Plummet After Four-Day Rally
Global oil prices dropped sharply after a four-day winning streak.
The drop was triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to expedite efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.
This development significantly eased concerns about potential Russian supply disruptions weighing on the oil market.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell $1.82 (2.36%) to $75.18 per barrel for April delivery.
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, also declined, dropping $1.95 (2.66%) to close at $71.37 per barrel for March delivery.
