A surprise economic contraction brought out the bears early Wednesday, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major indexes managed to switch gears and turn losses into gains by the market's close, thanks to a soft inflation report. Dow component Nvidia fell as partner Super Micro Computer plummeted on the stock market today. Meanwhile, famed investor Cathie Wood scooped up shares of an Nvidia rival.
The Dow turned what had been a loss of nearly 800 points into a 141-point gain by the session's end, moving 0.4% higher and scoring its seventh win in the last eight sessions. The S&P converted a loss of more than 2% into a 0.2% surplus, while the Nasdaq managed to whittle losses of nearly 3% down to a deficit of less than 0.1% by the close.
Small caps on the Russell 2000 broke a six-day winning streak and finished 0.9% lower on Wednesday.
Volume was higher on the New York Stock Exchange and lower on the Nasdaq compared with the same time on Tuesday. Decliners outnumbered advancers by nearly 2-to-1 on the NYSE and nearly 3-to-2 on the Nasdaq.
The Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund also recovered from steep early losses and finished 0.1% lower. And the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell two basis points to 4.15%.
Among the S&P 500 sectors, consumer staples and health care eked out gains while others lagged. Energy and consumer discretionary stocks were the worst performers.
One winner Wednesday was Oddity Tech, which soared more than 30% after a strong first-quarter report. Shares also broke out of a consolidation at a buy point of 51 and are extended.
3:07 p.m. ET
Booking Turns It Around
Booking Holdings saw an early loss reverse to a gain after the travel company reported sales of $4.8 billion with earnings per share of $24.81 for its first quarter. Both beat views. Shares had dipped 0.5% amid growing uncertainty for the travel industry due to tariffs but rose 1.4% in the afternoon.
Booking shares rallied heading into its earnings report and are in a consolidation base that has a buy point of 5337.24. The relative strength line is at a new high.
2:06 p.m. ET
Consumer Psychology Shifting; Wood Buys AMD
According to Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial, "consumer psychology is quietly shifting" and "should put us on notice that things can get worse." The Conference Board's latest report showed that consumer confidence fell to 86 — the lowest since May 2020 in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic — as President Donald Trump's tariffs continue to rock the markets.
On Wednesday, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang urged the Trump administration to change the rules for exporting artificial intelligence technologies and noted the need to "accelerate the diffusion of American AI technology around the world."
Elsewhere, famed investor Cathie Wood's ARK Invest added Advanced Micro Devices to its holdings, according to a website that tracks trades in ARK's exchange traded funds. AMD is down 20% for the year and 58% off its all-time high of 227.30. The ARK Next Gen Internet ETF added $749,000 of the Nvidia artificial intelligence rival on Tuesday.
IBD 50 stocks Stride and GeneDx also moved after their earnings reports. Stride gained and neared a buy point of 145 but gave up some of those gains and pulled back below the buy point in the afternoon.
GeneDx cratered nearly 39% in recent action. The stock triggered two sell rules as shares gapped down below the 50-day line and were touching the 200-day moving average. GeneDx also tumbled more than 7% below a buy point of 115.60.
12:15 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Magnificent Seven Earnings
Meta Platforms dropped nearly 3% ahead of its earnings report, due at the market's close. Shares fell below their 21-day moving average.
Among other Magnificent Seven players Apple and Amazon are due to report earnings on Thursday.
After a six-day winning streak, Apple stock pulled back slightly Wednesday. Shares remain above their 21-day exponential moving average but below the 50-day moving average. Apple also got three analyst price target downgrades amid fears that tariffs will hurt the company's future sales.
Amazon plunged more than 3% and tested its 21-day moving average. Another Mag 7 stock, Tesla, was on track to break a six-day winning streak with a loss of nearly 5%.
10:53 a.m. ET
Surprise Data: Economy Contracts In First Quarter
Much of Wednesday's market turmoil came after the U.S. Commerce Department reported that GDP surprisingly contracted by 0.3% in the first quarter, the economy's first such retreat since the first quarter of 2022 amid the Covid-19 crisis. The figure came in below forecasts for 0.2% growth and marked a sharp reversal from 2.4% growth in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge showed that inflation in March was unchanged month on month, meeting views. On an annual basis, inflation rose 2.3% vs. views of 2.2%. Core inflation was seen rising 0.1% from February but was also unchanged. Year over year, core inflation met views of a 2.6% increase.
Data from ADP's jobs report showed that private payrolls increased just 62,000 in April, below economists' estimates for 125,000.
Elsewhere, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said a trade deal was "done" and awaited some approvals. Early Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a deal with India was close.
Late Tuesday, President Donald Trump once again took aim at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump reportedly said Powell was not doing a "good job."
Dow Jones: Nvidia Stock
In stocks, Dow Jones component Nvidia fell more than 3%, dropping back below its 21-day moving average on Wednesday.
Visa was an earnings mover Wednesday. Sales grew 9% to $9.6 billion while earnings per share of $2.76 were 10% higher than the prior year. Shares slipped and tested the 50-day moving average within a consolidation that has a buy point at 366.54.
Are These Magnificent Seven Stocks A Buy Now?
Alphabet | Amazon | Apple | Meta | Microsoft | Nvidia | Tesla
Stock Market Today: Super Micro Crashes, Booking Dips
Super Micro Computer crashed more than 17% after weak preliminary results. The Nvidia partner and maker of artificial intelligence servers lowered its sales outlook for the third quarter to $4.6 billion from $5.5 billion at the midpoint.
Tesla lost nearly 6% after a six-day rally drove the stock into a level of resistance at its 200-day moving average.
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