Stocks slipped on Wednesday as investors parsed the latest earnings reports and Federal Reserve meeting minutes while awaiting Nvidia’s quarterly figures. The Nasdaq Composite slid 0.56% to end at 5,888.55, the S&P 500 shed 0.51% to settle at 19,100.94, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 244.95 points, or 0.58%, to close at 42,098.70. Nvidia shares closed marginally lower ahead of their earnings report, which investors are keenly awaiting due to the high demand for the company’s artificial intelligence chips.
Nvidia is a key indicator of business investment, which, along with consumer spending, is keeping the economy out of a recession according to Tom Hainlin, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank. The Federal Reserve released the minutes from its May meeting, indicating a cautious monetary policy amid economic uncertainty. The minutes revealed that the Fed could face “difficult tradeoffs” if inflation rises.
On Tuesday, the Dow had rallied more than 700 points, or about 1.8%, while the S&P 500 rose 2%, each ending a four-day losing streak. The Nasdaq Composite advanced roughly 2.5%. The three major indexes concluded Wednesday’s session in the red, each finishing around 0.6% lower.
The S&P 500 ended down 0.5%. Bank of America clients were net sellers of US equities last week amid a market slump, according to a note from Jill Carey Hall, the firm’s equity and quant strategist. The selling was mainly in single stocks, with muted ETF inflows driven by fixed income and other ETFs.
UBS anticipates limited upside for the stock market in 2025 due to expected volatility from ongoing trade negotiations, particularly between the U.S., China, and the EU. UBS believes that easing trade tensions could potentially resume the market rally into 2026.
Nvidia shares marginally dip amid anticipation
Nvidia shares increased by more than 1% in Wednesday’s session as investors awaited the company’s earnings report. With this gain, Nvidia has risen more than 4% so far this week. Federal Housing Finance Agency director William Pulte criticized recent price increases for FICO credit scores, suggesting they did not have a legitimate basis in the age of automation and AI.
Shares of FICO rose over 7% on Wednesday despite recent steep selloffs. Several stocks made significant moves during midday trading on Wednesday:
– Abercrombie & Fitch shares climbed 19% after reporting strong first-quarter earnings and revenue. – Okta, an identity management software firm, saw shares decline more than 14% despite better-than-expected earnings and revenue.
– Vail Resorts surged more than 12% after the announcement of a new CEO. GameStop shares tumbled 10% in volatile trading despite initiating a bitcoin buying plan worth over half a billion dollars. Bitcoin recently hit a record high near $112,000.
The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond briefly exceeded the 5% level on Wednesday, marking a notable movement in the bond market. Small-cap stocks underperformed on Wednesday, with the Russell 2000 sliding 0.7%. Honeywell appointed Marc Steinberg from Elliott Investment Management to its board of directors ahead of its annual meeting.
The move follows Elliott’s significant stake in Honeywell last year. Bank of America lifted its price target for Seagate Technology to $135, up from $125, indicating a potential 15% upside. This follows positive meetings with the company’s CFO and projected revenue and margin recovery driven by new storage technologies like heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR).
