Stock market today , As increased Treasury yields affected market confidence, stocks plummeted on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average recording its worst day in almost a month.
The S&P 500 closed at 5,797.42, down 0.92%. The 30-stock Dow ended the day at 42,514.95, down 409.94 points, or 0.96%. The blue-chip index had its lowest day since early September. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 18,276.65, down 1.6%.
Stocks fell on Wednesday as market confidence was impacted by rising Treasury yields; the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its lowest day in over a month.
The S&P 500 fell 0.92% to close at 5,797.42. The 30-stock Dow dropped 409.94 points, or 0.96%, to close the day at 42,514.95. It was the lowest day for the blue-chip index since early September. At 18,276.65, the Nasdaq Composite closed 1.6% down.
“I think the impact of rising rates is the main concern. The likelihood that the Fed can make a significant rate drop is being reflected in the market, according to Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management. “Although some sectors of the economy have not yet been affected by rising interest rates, the longer rates stay high, the more different sectors must adjust to that reality. The economy is out of balance.”
Schutte stated that he thinks the market is ready for a fall in the near future as long as recession risks persist and that large caps are the most overpriced segment of the U.S. equities market.
Apple and Nvidia shares fell more than 2% on Wednesday, putting pressure on megacap stocks. Netflix and Amazon were down about 2%, while Meta Platforms fell 3%.
McDonald’s, a Dow member, ended the day more than 5% lower. Late Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that ten people had been hospitalized and one person had died as a result of an E. coli epidemic linked to the fast-food chain’s Quarter Pounder burgers.
Near Term challenges
According to Wells Fargo, even though the stock market has already booked its profits for 2024, this does not mean that investors should abandon stocks.
In a statement to investors, Darrell Cronk, head of the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, stated that although equities do not have much upside in the immediate future, they may rise again the following year.
The letter stated, “We anticipate that as long as economic, political, and geopolitical uncertainties continue, equity markets may find it difficult to move significantly above recent highs in the near future.”
“Given our 2025 outlook, which predicts a broad-based recovery that supports improved revenue growth and expanding margins, we would view periods of near-term weakness in equity markets as potential opportunities,” Cronk added.
For the end of this year, Wells Fargo has set a target range for the S&P 500 that is below the index’s closing price on Tuesday, between 5,300 and 5,500.
US stocks ends Wednesday lowest
This week, it was the third consecutive day that the Dow and the S&P 500 saw losses.
The 30-stock Dow ended the day at 42,514.95, down 409.94 points, or 0.96%. The S&P 500 closed at 5,797.42, down 0.92%.
The Nasdaq Composite closed at 18,276.65, down 1.6%.