Stock Market Today: Apple Sets New High on Mixed Day for the Market
Stocks failed to find common direction on Wednesday as investors digested more signs of surging inflation but also signals that the Fed won't ease policy anytime soon.


Stocks endured another up-and-down session Wednesday amid a deluge of headlines, though unlike yesterday, a couple of the major indexes escaped with gains.
The latest producer price report confirmed what consumer price data told us yesterday: inflation is surging. The headline producer price index rose 1.0% month-over-month, and 7.3% year-over-year, to topple expectations.
"This continued acceleration in prices is consistent with our view that core goods CPI will remain strong this year and continue to outperform its historical trend of the past three decades," says Barclays economist Pooja Sriram.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.

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.
Regardless, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated in testimony to Congress that easy monetary policies were likely to persist at least in the near term; investors keyed in on Powell's statement that "substantial further progress" in the labor market was still a ways off.
Meanwhile, banks continued their strong second-quarter earnings season, with Citigroup (C, -0.3%) and Wells Fargo (WFC, +4.0%) both beating bottom-line expectations.
And Apple (AAPL, +2.4%) hit a new high after JPMorgan added the stock to its "Focus List" amid boisterous iPhone and Mac sales. Also aiding the stock was a Bloomberg report, citing people with knowledge of the matter, saying Apple has asked suppliers to build up to 90 million next-gen iPhones, marking a significant jump from last year's shipments. AAPL shares are up more than 17% in the past month.
The major indexes enjoyed modest gains, led by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1% to 34,933). The S&P 500 also gained 0.1% to 4,374, while the Nasdaq Composite finished down 0.2% to 14,644. Small caps continued their recent struggles, with the Russell 2000 off 1.6% to 2,202.
Other action in the stock market today:
- Delta Air Lines (DAL) gave back 1.6% in the wake of its second-quarter earnings report. For the three-month period, the major airline reported net income of $652 million, its first profit in six quarters. Excluding the $1.5 billion in federal payroll aid it received during the quarter, DAL recorded an adjusted per-share loss of $1.07, though that was slimmer than analysts were expecting. Delta's $7.1 billion in revenue also beat the consensus estimate.
- In non-earnings news, AMC Entertainment (AMC) continued to decline amid a broad selloff in meme stocks. AMC shed 15.0% today to bring its month-to-date loss to more than 30% (though it's still up mor ethan 1,440% for the year to date). Some other notable Reddit stocks that slumped today include GameStop (GME, -6.9%), Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE, -7.8%) and BlackBerry (BB, -3.8%).
- U.S. crude oil futures fell 2.8% to end at $73.13 per barrel. "Oil prices have been moving lower following a report ahead of the open that Saudi Arabia has reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to boost their baseline," says Michael Reinking, senior market strategist for the New York Stock Exchange. "Since then, there have been multiple reports that this does not necessarily have the full support of other members yet."
- Gold futures rose 0.8% to settle at $1,825.00 an ounce.
- The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) slipped 4.6% to 16.33.
- Bitcoin rebounded 1.3% to $32,724.50. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.)
Real Estate Keeps Raking It In
One of the S&P 500's best sectors of 2021 remains one of the few places to find high yield. The real estate sector was one of Wednesday's top gainers at 0.9%, extending its year-to-date total returns to 27.1%, behind only energy stocks (+41.0%) in 2021.
Despite that recovery after a dreadful 2020, the S&P 500 real estate sector still offers up a yield of just more than 3%, dwarfing the broader index's 1.3%. However, while most real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been red-hot this year, a few bargains remain.
Investors typically benefit by paying less for good stocks, but especially in the real estate sector, value is a potent one-two punch – not only do undervalued stocks have greater potential for price appreciation, but they also offer higher dividend yields on their original cost basis too.
Here, we have highlighted seven value-priced REITs that offer a combination of fair prices, improving profits and sturdy fundamentals.
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
Kyle Woodley is the Editor-in-Chief of WealthUp, a site dedicated to improving the personal finances and financial literacy of people of all ages. He also writes the weekly The Weekend Tea newsletter, which covers both news and analysis about spending, saving, investing, the economy and more.
Kyle was previously the Senior Investing Editor for Kiplinger.com, and the Managing Editor for InvestorPlace.com before that. His work has appeared in several outlets, including Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, Barchart, The Globe & Mail and the Nasdaq. He also has appeared as a guest on Fox Business Network and Money Radio, among other shows and podcasts, and he has been quoted in several outlets, including MarketWatch, Vice and Univision. He is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a BA in journalism.
You can check out his thoughts on the markets (and more) at @KyleWoodley.
-
Think Twice Before Getting a Credit Card Cash Advance
A credit card cash advance can be a quick solution when you need emergency help with money. But you'll pay for the convenience with high interest and fees.
-
What is AI Worth to the Economy?
The Letter Spending on AI is already boosting GDP, but will the massive outlays being poured into the technology deliver faster economic growth in the long run?
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into UnitedHealth Group Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
UNH stock was a massive market beater for ages – until it wasn't.
-
Tech Sells Off While Trump Stirs the Fed: Stock Market Today
We've reached another important part of earnings season, though markets remain captivated by the president, the Fed, and interest rate policy.
-
Dow Retreats From a Record High: Stock Market Today
Quietly rising since April, Home Depot stock was conspicuously constructive Tuesday as high-profile tech names dragged equity indexes down.
-
Nasdaq Ends the Week at a New High: Stock Market Today
The S&P 500 came within a hair of a new high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average still has yet to hit a fresh peak in 2025.
-
Stocks Swing Lower as Eli Lilly, Fortinet Spiral: Stock Market Today
The main indexes finished well off their session highs after a disappointing batch of corporate earnings reports.
-
What Tariffs Mean for Your Sector Exposure
New, higher and changing tariffs will ripple through the economy and into share prices for many quarters to come.
-
Stocks Rally on Apple Strength: Stock Market Today
The iPhone maker will boost its U.S. investment by $100 billion, which sent the Dow Jones stock soaring.
-
Dow Dives 542 Points on Soft Jobs Data: Stock Market Today
The last day of a busy week ends with the first greater-than-1% move in either direction in more than a month.