epa05642434 A trader wears a hat that reads 'DOW 19,000', which was made by colleague at the NYSE, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, New York, USA, on 22 November 2016. The Dow Jones industrial average hit 19,000 during morning trading. EPA/JUSTIN LANE
NEW YORK: Wall Street was little changed on Wednesday as investors assessed whether a post-election rally, which powered the major indexes to a series of record highs in the past month, had more room to run.
Investors have been flocking to sectors such as financials and industrials, which are most likely to benefit from President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals of more fiscal stimulus and simpler regulations.
“When we have run up so high, it’s common that there is some sensitivity in the market, maybe due to softer oil prices or just the technical aspects of being at such high levels,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.
Since the Nov 8 election, the Dow Jones industrial average has risen 5%, the S&P 500 3.4% and the Nasdaq 2.7%.
While an interest rate hike at the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week is a foregone conclusion, investors are on the lookout for how the central bank views Trump’s pro-growth policies and whether that could lead to more aggressive rate hikes next year.
Traders are pricing in a 92% chance of a rate hike at the meeting, according to Thomson Reuters data.
At 9:40am ET (1441 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.58 points, or 0.01%, at 19,250.2.
The S&P 500 was down 2 points, or 0.09%, at 2,210.23 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 13.16 points, or 0.25%, at 5,319.84.
Losses in healthcare and technology weighed slightly on the three indexes.
Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, while losses in Pfizer, Celgene and Johnson & Johnson dragged the healthcare sector down 1.27%.
Pfizer fell 2.2% to US$30.84 after Britain’s competition watchdog fined the drugmaker US$107mil for its role in ramping up the cost of an epilepsy drug by as much as 2,600%. The stock was the top drag on the S&P.
Celgene lost 3.4% to US$113.55 following its announcement that it would not further test a combination of its breast cancer drug Abraxane with chemotherapy.
Western Digital rose 4.8% to US$67 after the data storage maker raised its second-quarter profit and revenue forecasts. The stock was the top percentage gainer on the S&P.
Restaurant and arcade chain operator Dave & Buster’s soared 13.5% to US$54.50 following upbeat quarterly results and a raised full-year revenue forecast.
Wendy’s rose 4.2% to US$13.50 after activist investor Nelson Peltz raised his stake in the burger chain to 23.45%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,620 to 990. On the Nasdaq, 1,158 issues fell and 1,073 advanced.
The S&P 500 index showed 30 new 52-week highs and five new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 76 new highs and eight new lows. - Reuters
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