US stocks fluctuated Wednesday during midday trade after an unexpected hike in interest rates from Canada, a surprise drop in Chinese exports and economic headwinds unleashed by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) raised fresh concerns about global growth.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was down 0.29%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was up 0.18%, or less than 100 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was down 0.94% at 12:25 PM ET.
The Bank of Canada raised its key The interest rate is 25 basis points On Wednesday, it wraps up its three-month hiatus on the upswing, as Canada’s economy goes into a sweltering heat.
Official trade data released on Wednesday added to worries about a post-pandemic recovery in the world’s second-largest economy, which weighed on global markets. China’s exports fell 7.5% from a year ago in May, compared to economists’ expectations for a 0.4% drop.
“Weaker global trade is not a new story, but it’s surprising how quickly China’s reopening push has faded, with business piling up supporting export numbers so far even as other countries continue to see demand for their goods wane,” Craig Erlam, chief market analyst at Oanda, said. wrote in a note on Wednesday.
“With China’s economic boom slowing so quickly, pressure is set to intensify on the leadership to announce new stimulus measures in a bid to get the economy going again,” the analyst added.
While the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development raised its global growth forecast for 2023 slightly to 2.7% in its latest economic forecast on Wednesday, the group identified potential roadblocks to a future recovery, with persistent inflation and rising interest rates.
Meanwhile, investors are watching closely whether the S&P 500 will enter a new bull market.
Treasury yields crept up after the US Treasury said it plans to increase the volume of sales of upcoming bills, putting pressure on short-term bonds. The yield on the two-year yield rose to 4.59%, while the yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 3.78%.
Separately, on the housing front, mortgage applications for home purchases nearly hit a 30-year low in May as a renewed rise in mortgage rates weakened demand, Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, the SEC’s crackdown remained in focus for investors, after the regulator filed lawsuits against the largest cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase (COIN) and Binance. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) price was trading below $27,000 early Wednesday.
In individual stock moves, Tesla (TSLA) shares rose more than 1% after news that the Environmental Protection Agency will exclude electric vehicle makers from the renewable fuel standard, Reuters reported.
Shares of United Natural Foods Inc. fell. (UNFI) increased by more than 16% after the wholesale grocer reported missing-than-expected third-quarter earnings while slashing its full-year forecast. Meanwhile, shares of Campbell Soup (CPB) fell 6% after the food company provided earnings guidance that fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Shares of Netflix (NFLX) jumped more than 1% after analysts at JPMorgan estimated that the streaming giant’s password crackdown would generate nearly $6 billion in additional revenue in 2024 and 2025. Shares of Affirm Holdings, Inc. (AFRM) more than 10% after the company announced a partnership with Amazon (AMZN) Pay.
Next on the earnings schedule is GameStop (GME), which is set to report earnings after markets close on Wednesday. The shares advanced more than 4% in early trading.
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Danny Romero, Yahoo Finance correspondent. Follow her on Twitter @employee
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