Stocks rose Wednesday, with the market turning a corner following back-to-back losing sessions on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 added 0.51% to 5,104.76, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.58% to 16,031.54. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded higher by 75.86 points, or 0.2%, to close at 38,661.05. The blue-chip average was weighed down by a drop of more than 2% in Disney.
Wednesday’s advances mark a reprieve after the three major averages notched two straight days of declines, pulling the market off record highs. But gains were kept in check as Apple fell into the red once again and concerns swirled around a troubled regional bank.
While the Nasdaq saw gains Wednesday, some major tech names sat out of the rally. Apple fell for its sixth straight trading day, even as mega-cap darling Nvidia climbed more than 3%. Alphabet and Tesla also both traded lower in the session.
Despite Wednesday’s action, the three major indexes were still down on the week.
Regional bank stocks swung between gains and losses in the session after New York Community Bancorp announced a $1 billion capital raise. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) ended the session slightly lower after trading down by more than 2% during the day.
Shares of NYCB rose about 7.5% after tumbling more than 40% earlier in the session. Trading in the stock was halted several times throughout the day.
Powell on Capitol Hill
Traders kept an eye on the first of two Capitol Hill appearances this week from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who said on Wednesday in prepared remarks that the central bank could lower interest rates this year. However, the Fed chief said the bank is not immediately ready to cut the cost of borrowing money.
“We believe that our policy rate is likely at its peak for this tightening cycle,” Powell said. “If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year.”
When questioned by the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, Powell noted that the central bank would like to see more data before it cuts rates. He’s also slated to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
Investors are still in “wait-and-see mode” following Powell’s remarks, said David Russell, global head of market strategy at online investing platform TradeStation. But he said there’s still broad consensus about the future path of monetary policy, with higher rates “becoming less of a danger.”
“No news is good news from Powell,” Russell said. “He confirmed that the bias from here is likely toward lower rates and emphasized potential risks from not cutting.”
