Stocks ended Wednesday's session mixed as market participants weighed ongoing stimulus talks and vaccine optimism against the Federal Open Market Committee's December monetary policy decision. The Nasdaq rose to a new all-time closing higher, while the S&P 500 gained to just short of its previous record. However, the Dow was pressured by signs of slowing economic recovery.
The Commerce Department reported that retail sales fell by a larger-than-expected 1.1% in November, weighed down by surging coronavirus cases nationwide and decreasing household incomes amid the holiday spending season.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated in a press conference following the release of the central bank's new monetary policy that outlook for the economy still remains "extraordinarily uncertain." Powell noted that while the roll out of coronavirus vaccines boost recovery forecasts, the timing and distribution of the vaccines and the economic implications are still unclear.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met on Tuesday to discuss both the new bipartisan coronavirus relief package and a broader government spending bill that is due to pass by Friday. Market participants saw this meeting as progress towards finally passing a stimulus bill after months of impasses and stalemates.
Here's how the market settled for the mid-week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
For Stocks, Tilray
For Sector Performance, sectors on the S&P ended Wednesday's session split as the market looked for direction. Top gainers included Consumer Discretionary
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar
While not usually tracked in this report, Bitcoin crossed the $20,000 threshold for the first time ever on Wednesday as market participants became increasingly bullish towards the risky cryptocurrency.
For Thursday, traders will turn their attention to fresh unemployment data as well as continued updates from the fiscal stimulus front.