NEW YORK, New York – U.S. stocks were divided on Wednesday, with the technology and industrial sectors parting ways.
Tech stocks were sold off, while industrial stocks rallied in some quarters.
“We’re witnessing the change in market leadership; it used to be pretty narrow, a handful of large tech companies. Today we’re seeing small caps up another two percent and strength in areas like financials. Watching that performance broaden now has been a factor in us moving to a more neutral outlook now for the weeks and months ahead,” U.S. Bank Wealth Management’s senior investment strategist Tom Hainlin told CNBC Wednesday.
“So we started the year being slightly cautious. We thought clients should have a little bit less than stocks and a little more in things like utilities. And we just recently shifted that to where clients should just be allocated to what their normal long-term investment allocations are, between stocks and bonds, and things like real estate,” Hainlin added.
The main winner on Wednesday was the Dow Jones Industrials index which climbed 91.74 points or 0.27 percent to 33,665.02.
The main loser was the Nasdaq Composite which shed 171.52 points or 1.29 percent to 13,104.89.
The Standard and Poor’s 500 retreated 16.33 points or 0.38 percent to 4,267.52.
The NYSE COMPOSITE (DJ) registered a gain of 86.80 points or 0.56 percent, closing at 15,478.61.
The NYSE AMEX COMPOSITE INDEX (NYSE Arca) surged by 66.19 points or 1.64 percent to reach 4,095.94.
The Russell 2000, representing small-cap companies, demonstrated resilience by climbing 35.38 points or 1.91 percent to reach 1,890.78.
Volatility, as measured by the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), experienced a marginal decrease of 0.03 points or 0.21 percent, ending at 13.93.
The euro traded at 1.0694, approaching the U.S. close on foreign exchange markets Wednesday, a marginal increase 0f 0.02 percent.
The Japanese yen declined 0.42 percent to 140.21.
The Canadian dollar was firmer, rising 0.22 percent to 1.3372.
The British pound edged up 0.06 percent to 1.2431 Wednesday.
The Swiss franc weakened markedly, falling 0.34 percent to 0.9106.
The Australian dollar was hit by profit-takers reducing the aussie by 0.28 percent to 0.6651.
The New Zealand dollar dropped sharply, losing 0.67 percent to 0.6036.
Global stock markets were mixed Wednesday.
The FTSE 100 index (^FTSE) in London concluded the day at 7,624.34, reflecting a marginal decline of 3.76 points or 0.05 percent.
The ESTX 50 PR.EUR index (^GSPTSE) closed at 4,291.91, decreasing by 3.31 points or 0.08 percent.
The Euronext 100 Index (^N100) finished at 1,344.06, posting a gain of 0.79 points or 0.06 percent.
Germany’s DAX Performance Index (^GDAXI) closed at 15,960.56, down 31.88 points or 0.20 percent.
The CAC 40 index (^FCHI) in France wrapped up the session at 7,202.79, experiencing a minor dip of 6.21 points or 0.09 percent.
Belgium’s BEL 20 index (^BFX) wrapped up the session at 3,650.23, declining by 6.67 points or 0.18 percent.
Russia’s MOEX Russia Index (IMOEX.ME) closed at 2,222.51, showing a decrease of 4.14 points or 0.19 percent.
In North America, in Canada, the S&P/TSX Composite index concluded the day at 19,983.69, down 71.91 points or 0.36 percent. The trading volume stood at 200.171 million shares.
In Latin America, in Brazil, the IBOVESPA ended the trading day at 115,487.05, advancing by 876.95 points or 0.77 percent.
Mexico’s IPC MEXICO, however, saw a small dip of 85.04 points or 0.16 percent, closing at 54,347.15. The trading volume reached 134.949 million shares.
The S&P/CLX IPSA in Chile remained unchanged at 5,058.88, with no significant movement.
In Africa, the Top 40 USD Net TRI Index in South Africa experienced significant growth, rising by 48.51 points or 1.21 percent to settle at 4,045.64.
On Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index (^N225) finished at 31,913.74, recording a notable drop of 593.04 points or 1.82 percent.
The Hang Seng Index (^HSI) in Hong Kong displayed a positive performance Wednesday, ending the day at 19,252.00, gaining 152.72 points or 0.80 percent.
China’s SSE Composite Index (000001.SS) closed at 3,197.76, registering a modest increase of 2.42 points or 0.08 percent, with a trading volume of 36.536 million shares. The Shenzhen Index (399001.SZ) in Shenzhen, China, settled at 10,708.82, declining by 64.63 points or 0.60 percent, with a trading volume of 1.229 billion shares.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index (^AXJO) concluded at 7,118.00, down 11.60 points or 0.16 percent, while the Australian All Ordinaries index (^AORD) settled at 7,310.40, recording a decline of 9.50 points or 0.13 percent.
Singapore’s STI Index (^STI) settled at 3,179.58, down 10.53 points or 0.33 percent.
India’s S&P BSE Sensex (^BSESN) closed at 63,142.96 Wednesday, rising by 350.08 points or 0.56 percent, while the NIFTY 50 index (^NSEI) in India closed at 18,726.40, rising by 127.40 points or 0.68 percent.
Indonesia’s IDX Composite index (^JKSE) wrapped up the session at 6,619.75, gaining 0.83 points or 0.01 percent.
Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (^KLSE) concluded at 1,378.65, declining by 4.52 points or 0.33 percent.
In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 Index Gross (^NZ50) closed at 11,759.15, experiencing a significant drop of 122.95 points or 1.03 percent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index (^KS11) concluded at 2,615.60, edging up by 0.19 points or 0.01 percent.
In Taipei, Taiwan, the TSEC Weighted Index (^TWII) wrapped up the session at 16,922.48, displaying a notable increase of 160.82 points or 0.96 percent.
In the Middle East, Israel’s TA-125 index (^TA125.TA) closed at 1,790.51, marking a significant rise of 34.86 points or 1.99 percent.
In Egypt, the EGX 30 Price Return Index (^CASE30) concluded at 17,347.60, declining by 143.60 points or 0.82 percent, with a trading volume of 331.487 million shares.