Stock Market Closes With Mixed Results; FedEx Raises Dividend; Nvidia Gets Hit
The stock market indexes were mixed today, with some going up and some going down. One leading chip stock, however, was pulled down by the market.
Dow Megacaps were the only exception. The indexes could not get back to their highs from the previous day. Investors were worried about a potential recession, and it showed in the indexes.
The Dow Jones closed up 0.2%. The Nasdaq fell 1.1%, while the S&P500 was down 0.3%. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF(IWM) was the first to fall, slipping 1%.
In preliminary data, NYSE volume decreased while Nasdaq volumes rose compared to the same time Tuesday.
Invesco's QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq100, fell by 1%. Innovator IBD50 ETF (FFTY), which tracks growth stocks, performed worse than major averages. It fell 1.9%.
Crude oil fell 0.4% to $80.38 a barrel. Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $28,200. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell 5 basis points to 3.29 percent.
Gold futures reached a high of 2,049 dollars in 2023 before settling down at $2,038. The SPDR Gold Trust ETF GLD slipped 0.1%.
CME FedWatch shows odds of over 40% for a rate hike of a quarter point at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on May 3.
The European stock market closed with a mixed result. The DAX in Germany fell 0.5%, while the CAC in Paris dropped 0.4%. The London FTSE closed the day with a 0.4% gain.
Stock Market Today - Health Care Stocks Leading The Dow
Dow component Johnson & Johnson jumped 4.5% on heavy volume after news that it would settle litigation regarding its talc based baby powders.
The health care giant has agreed to pay out $8,9 billion in 25-year installments to 60,000 cancer claimants who claimed that talc found in baby powder was the cause of their cancer. JNJ is the Dow's biggest gainer today.
United Healthcare (UNH), a Dow stock, jumped 3.2% when Raymond James upgraded it to a "strong buy" rating from an outperform and raised the target price to 630, up from 615.
HCA Healthcare (HCA), which rose by 1.5%, broke out of the long cup with handle base and hit the 269.19 purchase point. The shares are now in the 5% zone e and have reached 282.65
According to MarketSmith's pattern recognition, the relative strength line of HCA stock has reached a 52-week peak, as indicated by a blue dot. HCA operates over 2,300 clinics and 182 hospitals in the U.S.
Footwear Stock Tumbles On Downgrade
On (ONON), a Swiss footwear manufacturer, dropped 9.7% on the stock market Wednesday after Baird downgraded it from outperform to neutral with a target price of 33.
Nvidia (NVDA), the parent company of Alphabet, slid 2.1% lower after Alphabet claimed that its chips for AI training were faster and used less power.
The shares of GOOGL fell by 0.2%.
FedEx (FDX), a shipper, gained 1.5% on heavy volumes after news that it would consolidate its operation and increase its quarterly dividend by 10%.
The 217.48 buying point is above the 5% zone for a flat basis.
MarketAxess' (MKTX), which reported Q1 volume statistics, and transaction fees, saw its share price plummet by 13.9%. The fintech firm operates a trading platform for electronic fixed income products.
Simply Good Foods' (SMPL) stock fell 4.8% despite reporting a beating on both its top and bottom line for the quarter ended November, following a decline in gross profit.
The shares plunged below 50 days and the sell signal of 7% to 8 % was triggered from the buy point of 40.26.