Stock Market Today: Stocks Finish Lower After Inflation Data, Fed Minutes
Today's loss extended lengthy losing streaks for the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.


Wednesday's choppy trading ended with a loss for stocks. Modest declines for the Nasdaq Composite (-0.1% at 10,417) and the S&P 500 Index (-0.3% at 3,577) had the two indexes extending their losing streaks to six days, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.1% to 29,210.
In focus today was September's producer price index (PPI), which showed wholesale inflation rose at a faster-than-expected pace last month. Meanwhile, core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, posted its largest month-over-month increase since May.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-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.
The inflation data came ahead of this afternoon's release of the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) September meeting, when the central bank issued its third consecutive 75 basis-point rate hike (a basis point = 0.01%). The minutes showed red-hot inflation is still top of mind for the Fed, and confirmed that the central bank "needed to move to, and then maintain, a more restrictive policy stance" in order to ease price pressures.
Not All Dividend Stocks Are Created Equal
Today's PPI report makes tomorrow's release of the consumer price index (CPI) all that more critical, especially as the Federal Reserve continues to be concerned about stubbornly high inflation. "No doubt the Fed still has its work cut out for them, and if tomorrow's CPI read is hot, don’t be surprised to see some investors come to grips with how long the road to tamer inflation may be," says Mike Loewengart, head of portfolio construction at Morgan Stanley Global Investment Office.
We've talked in this space many times about how investors can protect their portfolios against potential volatility in the market, including with dividend stocks. But not all dividend payers are created equal. "Too often people are drawn to the allure of a high yield, not realizing the company doesn't have the financial strength to pay the same level of dividend into the future," says Austin Graff, co-chief investment officer and portfolio manager of the TrueShares Low Volatility Equity Income ETF (DIVZ). "Combine that with the fact that we have entered a new paradigm in the market, from extremely easy money policy to tighter monetary policy, the dividend yields of companies that rely on heavy debt loads become suspect."
As such, it's important for investors to focus on high-quality dividend stocks, which can often be found in companies consistently growing their payouts. The obvious place to start is with the Dividend Aristocrats, an elite group of S&P 500 stocks that have raised their dividends for 25 straight years. There are also the Dividend Kings – the crème de la crème of dividend growers that have hiked their payouts for at least 50 consecutive years. Check them out.
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
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.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Could a Golden Visa Be Your Ticket to Retiring Abroad?
Trump and DOGE are weighing a U.S. "Gold Card" that would let the wealthy emigrate to the U.S. for a fee. But golden visas have been around for years worldwide. Here's how they work.
-
Running Out of Money in Retirement: Nine Steps to Reduce the Risk
Quit worrying about money and enjoy a carefree retirement. Sounds good, right? Well, if you follow these nine steps from a financial adviser, you could be on your way to that goal.
-
Stock Market Today: Investors Weigh Weekend Negotiations
Investors, traders and speculators will look to Switzerland for answers about the most compelling issue confronting global markets.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Rise on Trump Trade Deal
The U.S. and the U.K. agreed to a trade agreement that includes lower automobile tariffs.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Rise Despite Stagflation Risk
The business of business continues apace on continuing hope for reduced trade-related uncertainty.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Slip for a Second Straight Day
Solid earnings but mixed guidance amid more tariff uncertainty have markets searching for direction.
-
Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Dow Snap Win Streaks
Berkshire Hathaway shares tumbled after Warren Buffett said he'll step down as CEO of the holding company at the end of the year.
-
Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Nabs Longest Win Streak Since 2004
The stock market's rebound from its mid-April tariff-induced lows has been nothing short of impressive.
-
Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P 500 Extend Win Streaks to 8
Strong earnings results for Magnificent 7 stocks Microsoft and Meta fueled upside in the equities market.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Rally Back Before Mag 7 Earnings
An unexpected contraction in the U.S. economy and dismal jobs data arrived ahead of earnings from some of Wall Street's biggest names.