S&P 500 gains as investors navigate tech slump

Note: Figures recorded at 7:40am AEDT. Updated figures and a video recording will be available at 9am AEDT.

The S&P 500 rose Wednesday as investors attempted to turn a corner following back-to-back losing sessions on Wall Street.

The broad index added 0.4%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded lower by just 7 points, weighed down by a drop of more than 2% in Disney.

Investors have tried to push the market higher after the three major averages notched two straight days of declines. But gains were kept in check as Apple fell into the red once again for a 6th straight day and has now lost $352 billion this year, whilst concerns swirled around troubled regional bank New York Community Bancorp.

While the Nasdaq saw gains Wednesday, some major tech names sat out of the rally. Apple fell for its sixth straight trading day, capping gains even as Nvidia climbed more than 3%. Alphabet and Tesla also both traded lower in the session.

Regional bank stocks gyrated after New York Community Bancorp announced a $1 billion capital raise. Shares of the regional bank rose about 14% after tumbling more than 40% earlier in the session. Trading in the stock was halted several times throughout the day.

The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) flickered around flat in late afternoon trading. It had slid more than 2% earlier in the session.

Traders kept an eye on the first of two Capitol Hill appearances from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell this week, who said on Wednesday in prepared remarks that the central bank could lower interest rates this year. However, the Fed chief said the bank is not immediately ready to cut the cost of borrowing money. Powell stated, “We believe that our policy rate is likely at its peak for this tightening cycle…If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year.” Powell noted that the central bank would like to see more data when questioned by the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. He’s also slated to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

Investors are still in “wait-and-see mode” following Powell’s remarks, said David Russell, global head of market strategy at online investing platform TradeStation. But he said there’s still broad consensus about the future path of monetary policy, with higher rates “becoming less of a danger.”

Turning to commodities, Oil prices surged over 1% following indications from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about potential interest rate cuts and increasing gasoline demand. The West Texas Intermediate contract for April settled at $79.13 a barrel, up by 1.25%, while May Brent futures settled at $82.96, rising by 1.12%. Powell mentioned to the House Financial Services Committee the likelihood of rate adjustments later this year pending further data, alongside observations of declining U.S. gasoline stockpiles, signalling a growing demand.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE gained 0.43 per cent, Frankfurt added 0.10 per cent, and Paris closed 0.28 per cent higher.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.02 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.70 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.26 per cent..

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.12 per cent higher at 7,733.54.

Ex-dividends
Auswide Bank Ltd (ASX:ABA) is paying 11 cents fully franked
Aust Finance Grp (ASX:AFG) is paying 4 cents fully franked
Air New Zealand (ASX:AIZ) is paying 1.6017 cents unfranked
Ambertech Limited (ASX:AMO) is paying 1.2 cents fully franked
Atlas Pearls Ltd (ASX:ATP) is paying 1.5 cents 37.33 per cent franked
Bapcor Limited (ASX:BAP) is paying 9.5 cents fully franked
BHP Group Limited (ASX:BHP) is paying 110.0244 cents fully franked
Clearview Wealth Ltd (ASX:CVW) is paying 1.5 cents fully franked
Freightways Group Lt (ASX:FRW) is paying 16.8397 cents unfranked
FSA Group Limited (ASX:FSA) is paying 3.5 cents fully franked
G8 Education Limited (ASX:GEM) is paying 3 cents fully franked
Globe International (ASX:GLB) is paying 9 cents fully franked
GTN Limited (ASX:GTN) is paying 1.1 cents unfranked
Helia Group Limited (ASX:HLI) is paying 15 cents 33.33 per cent franked
Helia Group Limited (ASX:HLI) is paying 30 cents 33.33 per cent franked
Helloworld Travl Ltd (ASX:HLO) is paying 5 cents fully franked
Idp Education Ltd (ASX:IEL) is paying 25 cents 77 per cent franked
Maas Group Holdings (ASX:MGH) is paying 3 cents fully franked
Michael Hill Int (ASX:MHJ) is paying 1.75 cents unfranked
McMillan Shakespeare (ASX:MMS) is paying 76 cents fully franked
Monash IVF Group Ltd (ASX:MVF) is paying 2.5 cents fully franked
NIB Holdings Limited (ASX:NHF) is paying 15 cents fully franked
Nzme Limited (ASX:NZM) is paying 5.6407 cents unfranked
Platinum Asia Ltd (ASX:PAI) is paying 1.5 cents fully franked
Platinum Capital Ltd (ASX:PMC) is paying 3 cents fully franked
Pinnacle Investment (ASX:PNI) is paying 15.6 cents fully franked
Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX:PRU) is paying 1.25 cents unfranked
Platinum Asset (ASX:PTM) is paying 6 cents fully franked
Qualitaslimited (ASX:QAL) is paying 2.25 cents fully franked
Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO) is paying 392.78 cents fully franked
South32 Limited (ASX:S32) is paying 0.6188 cents fully franked
Schaffer Corp. Ltd. (ASX:SFC) is paying 45 cents fully franked
Shine Justice Ltd (ASX:SHJ) is paying 1.5 cents unfranked
Sky Network (ASX:SKT) is paying 6.5951 cents unfranked
Universal Store (ASX:UNI) is paying 16.5 cents fully franked
Viva Energy Group (ASX:VEA) is paying 7.1 cents fully franked
Woodside Energy (ASX:WDS) is paying 91.5053 cents fully franked