In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, Craig Spector, left, works with fellow traders on the floor, Wednesday, June 2, 2021, in New York. Stocks edged higher Wednesday as gains in technology companies offset losses in industrial companies and other sectors. Investors are turning their attention to this month's jobs data, which will be out on Friday. (Courtney Crow/New York Stock Exchange via AP)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
Wall Street wrapped up another wobbly day of trading Wednesday with modest gains for the major stock indexes, as energy and technology companies kept losses elsewhere in the market in check.
The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.1% after wobbling between a gain of 0.4% and a loss of 0.1%. Strength in technology, energy and real estate stocks offset a pullback in retailers and other companies that rely on consumer spending. Communication, industrial and materials stocks also fell. Treasury yields mostly eased after rising a day earlier.
Movie theater operator AMC Entertainment nearly doubled in another bout of heavy trading as the company embraced its status as a “meme” stock being driven higher by hordes of individual investors. Other stocks like GameStop that have been championed on online message boards and social media also rose.
The market's modest moves for the second straight day come as investors look ahead to Friday’s U.S. jobs report, which the market hopes will lead to fresh clues about the Federal Reserve's next interest rate policy moves later this month, when the central bank holds its next meeting of policymakers.
“Payrolls will hopefully help to clarify where the Fed stands," said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “Until then, it’s going to be hard for the market to find a real direction, with the exception of the small-cap meme stocks.”
The S&P 500 rose 6.08 points to 4,208.12. The index is coming off its fourth straight monthly increase. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 25.07 points, or 0.1%, to 34,600.38. The Nasdaq recovered from an early slide, adding 19.85 points, or 0.1%, to 13,756.33.
Small-company stocks also notched modest gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 3.09 points, or 0.1%, to 2,297.83.
Economists are projecting that Friday's Labor Department report will show employers added more than 650,000 jobs last month. Expectations of a strong increase in hiring have stoked worries about inflation and how the Fed may respond to it. The concern is that the global recovery could be hampered if governments and central banks have to withdraw stimulus to combat rising prices.
Bond yields edged lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 1.59% from 1.61% late Tuesday.
Technology companies did much of the heavy lifting for the S&P 500. Chipmaker Nvidia rose 3.2%. Payments processor Visa gained 1.3% after giving investors an encouraging financial update.
Energy companies also made broad gains as oil prices ticked more than 1% higher. Occidental Petroleum rose 2.7% and Schlumberger led all S&P 500 stocks with a 7.7% gain.
Etsy jumped 7.1% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after the online crafts marketplace said it will buy Depop, an app that’s popular among young people looking to buy and sell used clothing and vintage fashions from the early 2000s.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
