S&P 500, Nasdaq finish higher
A choppy trading session ended Wednesday with stocks little changed as investors kept a cautious eye on impeachment proceedings in Washington.
By the closing bell, the Dow was down slightly, the S&P 500 was up slightly. The Nasdaq finished with a gain.
Ross Gerber is CEO of Gerber Kawasaki.
"It's pretty amazing. We've seen much lower volatility in such a high volatility time, but I think the market is really looking forward and this is the low. I mean, could it really get worse in America? We're in the middle of a coup and 4,500 people people dying a day. So I think what the market's saying is in six months, with the Biden administration taking over, an effective vaccine distribution and stimulus, that we'll be in a much better place, and I have to agree with that."
Chip stocks, namely Intel, saved the day for the Nasdaq. After only a short tenure, CEO Bob Swan is out – to be replaced by Pat Gelsinger, the head of software company VMWare. Intel was the biggest percentage gainer in the S&P 500. Intel’s gain was seen as VMWare’s lost – sending that stock down sharply.
Holiday sales at Target surged just over 17 percent and online sales more than doubled. The discount retailer saw higher demand for home goods, electronics and beauty products. It also helps that Target has a wide-range of shopping options: from same-day delivery to in-store pickup. The stock, however, ticked lower with some investors expecting even better numbers.
Finally, if your pockets feel a little lighter, that’s because consumer prices increased solidly last month due to a surge in gasoline prices. But the whiff of inflation is unlikely to shift the Federal Reserve away from its easy-money stance.
