Brad McMillan, the CIO of the Commonwealth Financial Network, looks at consumer confidence amid fears of inflation.
U.S. stock market indices mixed on Wednesday as investors became wary of the Federal Reserve’s tight schedule and tax hikes to help pay for President Biden’s ambitious spending plan.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6 points, or 0.02%, while the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.15% and 0.24%, respectively.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Exchange | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I: DJI | MEDIUM OF DOW JONES | 34680.52 | +102.95 | + 0.30% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4453.07 | +10.02 | + 0.23% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 15025.792828 | -11.97 | -0.08% |
The Dow and S&P fell on Tuesday for the sixth time in seven sessions, amid concerns that the slowdown in inflation could cause the Fed to begin to narrow later this year. Investors were also concerned about the proposed tax hikes that would help pay off Biden’s $ 3.5 trillion spending package.
In shares, the board of directors of Microsoft Corp. authorized a $ 60 billion share repurchase program and raised the company’s quarterly dividend by 11% to 62 cents per share.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Exchange | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 303.49 | +3.70 | + 1.23% |
Wynn Resorts Ltd., Las Vegas Sands Corp. and MGM Resorts International remained under pressure after the Macau government tightened regulations on casino operators. Shares of the three companies lost between 3.9% and 11% on Tuesday.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Exchange | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WYNN | WYNN RESORTS LTD. | 84.62 | -7.63 | -8.27% |
| LVS | LAS VEGAS SANDS CORP. | 37.37 | -1.33 | -3.44% |
| MGM | MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL | 39.76 | -1.65 | -3.98% |
Coinbase Global Inc. increased the size of its previously announced debt offering by $ 500 million to about $ 2 billion. The cryptocurrency exchange operator plans to use the money raised to invest in product development and possible mergers and acquisitions.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Exchange | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CURRENCY | COINBASE GLOBAL, INC. | 244.16 | +1.16 | + 0.48% |
Oil-related companies continued to rise as West Texas crude oil rose from $ 1.61 to $ 72.07 a barrel and has been on track since July 30th.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Exchange | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XOM | EXXON MOBILE CORP. | 56.22 | +1.59 | + 2.92% |
| CVS | CVS HEALTH CORP. | 84.80 | +0.85 | + 1.01% |
Gold, meanwhile, fell $ 8.40 to $ 1,798.70 an ounce.
Overseas markets were mostly lower.
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European stock markets mixed with the French CAC by 0.68% and the German DAX 40 with a weak 0.08%, while the British FTSE 100 rose 0.02%.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.84%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.52% and China’s Shanghai composite index lost 0.18%.