The Dow Jones Industrial Average fought back after slipping on the latest Fed Minutes release. Microsoft tumbled following a downgrade. General Electric popped after the spinoff of GE HealthCare Technologies. Tesla gained.
Meanwhile, a couple of stocks attempted breakouts amid the mildly positive action. Retailer Buckle and homebuilder D.R. Horton both tested buy points.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 11 basis points to 3.68%. West Texas Intermediate crude fell nearly 5% to just over $73 per barrel.
Indexes Reverse After Fed Minutes
Early stock market gains faded following the release of the latest Fed meeting minutes. The document gives further insights into the thoughts of the Federal Open Market Committee, which is led by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Those looking for indications of a pivot were left disappointed as central bankers continue to strike a hawkish tone.
"Participants generally observed that a restrictive policy stance would need to be maintained until the incoming data provided confidence that inflation was on a sustained downward path to 2 percent, which was likely to take some time," the minutes said.
It also stated that several meeting participants believe historical experience cautions against loosening policy too soon amid an "unacceptably high level of inflation."
Other economic data included the November job openings tally coming in at 10.5 million, above expectations for 10 to 10.33 million. Openings have declined since August, however.
Nasdaq Gains, Small Caps Outperform
The Nasdaq managed to close with a 0.7% gain. JD.com was a noteworthy performer, soaring 14.7%. The stock topped a 61.50 buy point.
The S&P 500 managed to turn in a gain of 0.8%. Carnival impressed here with a 9.7% gain.
The S&P 500 sectors were all positive. Real estate and materials were the strongest areas while health and energy lagged.
Small caps outperformed the major indexes, with the Russell 2000 finishing with a 1.3% rise.
Growth stocks also moved higher, with the Innovator IBD 50 ETF up 0.5%.
Dow Jones Today: Microsoft Stock Lashed On Downgrade
The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw gains evaporate following the Fed Minutes release. It managed to fight its way out of negative territory though to gain 0.4%.
Microsoft was hammered following an analyst downgrade. It closed off lows but still fell 4.4%, losing ground on the key 50-day moving average, according to MarketSmith.
UBS analyst Karl Keirstead downgraded MSFT to neutral from buy and lowered his price target to 250, citing challenges with Office 365 and the Azure cloud computing system.
Apple, which was thrashed on Tuesday, ended the day with a 1% gain.
Aerospace giant Boeing led the upside in the Dow with a gain of 4.2%. It nosed slightly higher than Salesforce, which moved 3.6% higher. Walt Disney rose 3.4%.
GE Stock Pops After Spinoff
General Electric was given a boost after it completed the spinoff of its health care unit Wednesday.
GE shares popped 5.7%, hitting their best levels since April. It comes after the stock rebounded from the 50-day moving average Tuesday.
GE stock cleared a spinoff-adjusted 67.15 buy point from a flat base.
The newly minted GE HealthCare also saw its shares move higher. In fact it fared even better, rising 8%.
GE HealthCare's installed base includes more than 4 million machines for imaging, ultrasound and pharmaceutical diagnostics. It serves more than 1 billion patients a year, enabling more than 2 billion medical procedures.
Futures: Stocks Rise Despite MSFT Sell-Off, But Beware Doing This
Tesla Stock Stems Bleeding
Tesla stock has had a torrid time, but was punching back on Wednesday. TSLA finished with a gain of 5.1%, near highs for the day.
Nevertheless, it is a long road back for the EV giant. The stock skidded more than 12% Tuesday to hit a 52-week low at 104.64.
This caused Tesla stock to close at its lowest level since Aug. 13, 2020, about 73% off its 52-week high.
It was slammed even after deliveries hit a record 405,278 in the fourth quarter. It missed Q4 forecasts despite aggressive year-end incentives.
Outside Dow Jones: These Stocks Test Buy Points
With the stock market currently in a correction, now is not the time to be buying stocks. Nevertheless, it is important to note breakouts of strong performers.
Apparel retailer Buckle sits in a buy zone after early moving past a 46.77 buy point. The relative strength line hit fresh heights, a positive, but volume was weak.
All-around strong performance is reflected in an IBD Composite Rating of 95 out of 99.
Meanwhile, homebuilder D.R. Horton was back below its entry after earlier passing a 92.55 handle buy point. Volume was also weak here.
Please follow Michael Larkin on Twitter at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
