Stocks closed little changed on Wednesday as concerns over rising interest rates impacted postivie second-quarter earnings sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped over 40 points, while the S&P 500 closed at a positive flatline and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1%.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.02% or +1.08 points to 5,071.63
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.11% or -42.77 points to 38,460.92
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.10% or +16.11 points to 15,712.75
On the Earnings Front:
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares popped higher despite the electric vehicle maker missing Wall Street expectations on both top and bottom lines on Tuesday after CEO Elon Musk told investors that production of new affordable models could begin sooner than previously expected.
Musk said during the company's earnings call that Tesla plans to start production of cheaper models in "early 2025, if not late [2024]," bring the timeline up from its previous forecast to begin in the second half of 2025.
Boeing (NYSE: BA) on Wednesday reported better-than-expected first-quarter results despite its increased scrutiny following a door plug blowout on a 737 Max on an Alaska Airlines (NYSE: ALK) flight in January. Moreover, Boeing's cash burn reached only $3.9 billion in the first-quarter, beating its forecast and Wall Street estimates for as much as $4.5 billion.
"Near term, yes, we are in a tough moment," CEO Dave Calhoun said in a note to employees on Wednesday, quoted by CNBC. "Lower deliveries can be difficult for our customers and for our financials. But safety and quality must and will come above all else. We are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to make certain our regulators, customers, employees, and the flying public are 100 percent confident in Boeing."
Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) shares rose higher on Wednesday after the toymaker reported a smaller-than-expected decline in sales for its first-quarter, with lower inventories helping to boost profits amid decreasing demand for toys. Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT) also posted a smaller-than-expected loss in its first quarter, as the company also tightened costs in response to waning toy sales.
"Trends in consumer demand for our product improved through the quarter and we expect to outpace the industry and gain market share in 2024," Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said in a statement. "We are executing our strategy to grow our IP-driven toy business and expand our entertainment offering."
In Economic News:
Orders for durable goods rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.6% pace in March, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday, up from February's downwardly revised gain of 0.7% and increasing for the second month in a row. On an annual basis, long-lasting goods increased 0.3%.
Looking Ahead:
Market participants will react to earnings from Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), AT&T (NYSE: T), IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Chipotle (NASDAQ: CMG) after closing bell on Wednesday, and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Honeywell International (NYSE: HON), Merck (NYSE: MRK) and Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) due out Thursday morning.