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
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
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.
-
Stocks Slip to Start Fed Week: Stock Market TodayWhile a rate cut is widely expected this week, uncertainty is building around the Fed's future plans for monetary policy.
-
December Fed Meeting: Live Updates and CommentaryThe December Fed meeting is one of the last key economic events of 2025, with Wall Street closely watching what Chair Powell & Co. will do about interest rates.
-
This Is Why Investors Shouldn't Romanticize BitcoinInvestors should treat bitcoin as the high-risk asset it is. A look at the data indicates a small portfolio allocation for most investors would be the safest.
-
Crypto Trends to Watch in 2026Cryptocurrency is still less than 20 years old, but it remains a fast-moving (and also maturing) market. Here are the crypto trends to watch for in 2026.
-
Dow Slides 427 Points to Open December: Stock Market TodayThe final month of 2025 begins on a negative note after stocks ended November with a startling rally.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Coca-Cola Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayEven with its reliable dividend growth and generous stock buybacks, Coca-Cola has underperformed the broad market in the long term.
-
If You Put $1,000 into Qualcomm Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You Would Have TodayQualcomm stock has been a big disappointment for truly long-term investors.
-
Stocks Extend Win Streak on Black Friday: Stock Market TodayThe main indexes notched wins in Friday's shortened session, with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closing higher on the month.
-
Dow Adds 314 Points to Thanksgiving Rally: Stock Market TodayInvestors, traders and speculators enjoy the best Thanksgiving Week gains for the major stock market indexes in more than a decade.
-
Dow Falls 557 Points to Start NVDA Week: Stock Market TodayThe Oracle of Omaha saw growth and value in certain corners of the stock market during the third quarter.
-
Dow Dives 797 Points as Government Opens: Stock Market TodayThe process of pricing and re-pricing realities old and new never stops, and next week promises to be at least as exciting as this week.
