Stock Market Today: Stocks Search for Direction

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Stocks finished with little movement for a second consecutive session Wednesday, held in check by lackluster trading in big tech stocks.

Although Tesla (TSLA, -5.3%) tumbled on reports that competitor Rivian is preparing an initial public offering and Twitter (TWTR, +13.2%) reached a seven-year high thanks to strong first-quarter user growth, the biggest names in the sector -- Microsoft (MSFT, -0.4%), Apple (AAPL, -0.5%), Alphabet (GOOGL, +0.5%) and Amazon.com (AMZN, -0.6%) -- hardly budged.

By the day's end, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 31,438, eking out another record close. The broader S&P 500 retreated 0.03% to 3,909, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3% to 13,972.

From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance

Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just ~~$107.88~~ $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues

CLICK FOR FREE ISSUE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/y99mlvgqmn1763972420.png

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.

Other action in the stock market today:

The small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 slipped 0.7% to 2,282.
The U.S. Dollar Index added 0.01% to 90.43.
U.S. crude oil futures improved by 0.1% to $58.43 per barrel.
Gold futures extended their winning streak to four sessions, gaining 0.3% to $1,843.40 per ounce.

stock market chart 011321 — Major U.S. Indices for 2/10/2021

25 Dividend Stocks the Analysts Love Most for 2021

Is a Rotation Out of Bonds Good for Dividend Stocks?

In a speech on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled a commitment to low interest rates, suggesting inflation should remain in check -- albeit temporarily on the rise as the economy recovers. (Kiplinger's is forecasting 2.3% inflation in 2021, up from 2020's rate of 1.4% but right in line with 2019's 2.3%.) The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note -- which reflects inflation expectations -- is back to levels last seen in March 2020.

For fixed-income investors, dividend growth stocks can easily keep up with mild inflation and fulfill a need for income, too.

"Another potential stock-market driver is rotation out of bonds, which shows signs of accelerating," writes Jim Kelleher, director of research at Argus Research. "At some point, rising yields will attract income-hungry retail investors who want to replace volatile equity exposure with something more certain."

Utility stocks are a good place to look for generous yields and will benefit from increased energy use. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) should likewise generate outsized gains in a recovery to become an equity income investor's best friend.

As for long-term equity income investors, they can't go wrong with companies that have raised their dividends every year for decades. Known as the Dividend Aristocrats, have a look at 65 top dividend stocks for the year ahead.

65 Best Dividend Stocks You Can Count On

Dan Burrows is Kiplinger's senior investing writer, having joined the publication full time in 2016.

A long-time financial journalist, Dan is a veteran of MarketWatch, CBS MoneyWatch, SmartMoney, InvestorPlace, DailyFinance and other tier 1 national publications. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Consumer Reports and his stories have appeared in the New York Daily News, the San Jose Mercury News and Investor's Business Daily, among many other outlets. As a senior writer at AOL's DailyFinance, Dan reported market news from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Once upon a time – before his days as a financial reporter and assistant financial editor at legendary fashion trade paper Women's Wear Daily – Dan worked for Spy magazine, scribbled away at Time Inc. and contributed to Maxim magazine back when lad mags were a thing. He's also written for Esquire magazine's Dubious Achievements Awards.

In his current role at Kiplinger, Dan writes about markets and macroeconomics.

Dan holds a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and a master's degree from Columbia University.

Disclosure: Dan does not trade individual stocks or securities. He is eternally long the U.S equity market, primarily through tax-advantaged accounts.