Stocks finished lower Wednesday, snapping a 9-day winning streak, as investors pulled back.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 475 points, to 1.27%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.47% in its worst single-day performance since October, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.50%.
FedEx shares tumbled 12% after the package-delivery giant posted softer-than-expected fiscal-second-quarter profit and slashed its full-year sales outlook amid what it called "volatile" economic conditions.
Meanwhile, the Conference Board's benchmark consumer confidence survey increased to a five-month high in December.
"Today’s data on consumer confidence puts up another point on the scoreboard for the soft landing camp as the Conference Board’s index jumped to the highest level since January of 2022," said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management.
"The upside surprise, driven by a sharp rise in the present situation can be linked back to several positive developments including rising stock prices, lower gas prices, and even robust labor conditions," he added.
Perhaps at the end of the day, Ripley said, "consumers are simply adjusting to higher prices and the drag on consumer sentiment from inflation has started to wane."
"Either way, the strengthening in consumer confidence recently only adds additional support to Powell’s soft-landing objective," he said.
Updated at 2:22 PM EST
Steel Review
U.S. Steel (X) -) shares gave back a fraction of their earlier gains Wednesday, and were marked 0.8% lower on the session at $48.00 each, following a report that suggested the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, better-known as CFIUS, will examine Nippon Steel's $15 billion takeover bid.
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, who chairs of the Senate Banking Committee, has also asked President Joe Biden to order a CFIUS review, to ""determine if the proposed acquisition is in the best interest of U.S. workers, consumers, and national security."
Updated at 10:59 AM EST
Confidently higher
Stocks are edging into positive territory following a stronger-than-expected reading from the Conference Board's benchmark consumer confidence survey, which rose 10 points from November to 110.7 points, and a surprise nudge higher for existing home sales over the month of November reported by the National Association of Realtors.
The S&P 500 is now 5 points higher on the session, with the Dow down 7 points and the Nasdaq rising 50 points, or 0.33%.
Updated at 9:51 AM EST
FedEx slumps
FedEx (FDX) -) is the biggest downside mover in early trading, falling more than 10%, after a weaker-than-expected second quarter profit update and a slimmed-down full-year revenue forecast.
Related: FedEx tumbles after slashing full-year sales forecast in 'volatile' economy
The broader market is also in the red, although only modestly, with the S&P 500 slipping 4 points, or 0.08%, and the Dow down 78 points. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, was marked 3 points higher, thanks to a solid early gain for Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) -).
Related: Google hits 2-month high on report of AI-led ad-sales restructuring
Updated at 7:36 AM EST
Mortgage borrowing boost
U.S. mortgage rates fell firmly below 7% last week, data from the Mortgage Bankers' Association indicated, taking 30-year home borrowing costs to 6.83%, the lowest levels since June amid the historic December bond market rally.
Related: Mortgage rates fall below 7% as housing market begins long-awaited rebound
Stock Market Today
Stocks extended their long autumn rally Tuesday, with the Dow hitting another record and the S&P 500 rising to within less than a percent of its January 2022 peak, following solid November housing-starts data and further bets by traders that interest-rate cuts are coming.
A key reading of domestic inflation — the Fed's preferred Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index gauge — is looming on Friday, which means investors are likely to focus on softening price pressures in Europe, with headline inflation falling to a two-year low in Britain and factory-gate (wholesale) inflation slowing more than expected in Germany.
The downside moves added more fuel to the global bond-market rally, which has seen U.S. 10-year-note yields fall the most since 2010, and boosted the case for Fed rate cuts in the early spring.
Benchmark 10-year notes were marked 4 basis points lower from last night's close at 3.89% while 2-year paper slipped to 4.382%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.23% higher at 102.397 as both the pound and the euro retreated in the wake of their respective inflation readings.
Global oil prices were also active, with Brent Crude prices rising past the $80 mark for the first time in two weeks. Traders priced in the added costs of rerouting oil shipments from the Red Sea to the Cape of Good Hope following drone and missile attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Brent Crude contracts for February delivery were marked 87 cents higher at $80.15 per barrel. WTI futures contracts for January added $1.01 to trade at $74.95 per barrel.
On Wall Street, futures are indicating a modestly softer open, with the S&P 500 priced for a 9-point decline and the Dow Jones Industrial Average looking at a 31-point pullback. The tech-focused Nasdaq is priced for a 50-point decline.
In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 was marked 0.06% higher in early Frankfurt trading, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.6% in London.
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed at a fresh 33-year high of 33,675.94 points, with a year-to-date gain of around 31%, following yesterday's dovish Bank of Japan rate decision.
The regionwide MSCI ex-Japan benchmark, meanwhile, edged 0.17% into the close of trading.
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