Stocks rose Wednesday as market participants looked to recover some losses from the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed over 75 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite added about 0.5% and 6%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.51% or +26.11 points to 5,104.76
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.20% or +75.86 points to 38,661.05
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.58% or +91.96 points to 16,031.54
In the News: New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB) made headlines on Wednesday after the regional lender announced a $1 billion capital raise on Wednesday, agreeing to a deal with several investment firms including former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's Liberty Strategic Capital, Hudson Bay Capital and Reverence Capital Partners in exchange for equity. Mnuchin will also be added to the bank's board of directors alongside Joseph Otting, former comptroller, who is also taking over as Chief Executive Officer.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee that the overall health of the U.S. economy remains in good shape, as the labor market remains strong and inflation continues to ease over the past year.
"We're trying to use our policies to keep that growth going to keep that labor market strong, while also achieving further progress on inflation," Powell said. "That's our goal and I do think there's a possibility we can achieve all of that while keeping the labor market strong and the economy growing."
In Economic News: Private U.S. payrolls rose at a slower-than-expected rate in February, payroll processing firm ADP reported Wednesday, offering a prelude to the federal government's "official" monthly jobs report due out Friday. The private sector added 140,000 positions last month, marking an improvement from January's upwardly revised total of 111,000 but coming in below analysts' forecasts.
On the Earnings Front: CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CWRD) shares popped more than 20% on Wednesday after the cybersecurity company posted stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and issued positive full year and current quarter guidance. Moreover, the company said it would acquire Flow Security for an undisclosed amount, with the deal set to close in the company's fiscal first quarter.
"CrowdStrike was born in the cloud and pioneered cloud-native cybersecurity. We have been consistently recognized as the strategic leader in cloud security by delivering the outcomes customers need most from a single, unified platform," CEO George Kurtz said in a press release. "With the acquisition of Flow Security, we're expanding our cloud leadership by protecting data in all states as it flows through the cloud, and are redefining the future of data protection by securing data from code, to application, to device and cloud."
Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) shares came under pressure on Wednesday after the department store issued a disappointing full-year outlook after posting a better-than-expected fourth-quarter. The company said its full-year revenue will range between a 2% decline and a 1% gain year-over-year, representing an earnings per share of $1.65 and $2.05.
Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) shares also weakened on Wednesday after the sneaker retailer reported a loss during its holiday-quarter and offered weak forward guidance for its current year. For its current fiscal year, Foot Locker expects adjusted earnings per share between $1.50 and $1.70 on sales in the range of a year-over-year 1% loss or 1% gain.
"As we continue evolving into a modern, omnichannel retailer for 'all things sneakers,' we are making important progress strengthening our brand partnerships, increasing customer engagement, transforming our real estate footprint, and driving growth in digital," said CEO Mary Dillon in a statement.