US equities are mostly lower as economic data suggest growth in early spring, a slight rise in inflation

The session included the public listing of crypto exchange Coinbase Global COIN,
+ 32.72%.

How does stock benchmarking trade?

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
  + 0.32%
  rose 85 points, or 0.3%, to 33,763, after setting an intraday record of 33,911.25.

• S&P 500 SPX,
  -0.23%
  fell 14 points, or 0.3%, to 4,127 after turning negative

• Nasdaq Compound COMP,
  -0.74%
  slipped 126 points, or 0.9%, to 13,869.

• The Russell 2000 RUT,
  + 0.76%
  increased by 1.2%.

On Tuesday, the Dow DJIA,
+ 0.32%
fell 68.13 points to end at 33,677.27, down 0.2%. The S&P 500 SPX,
-0.23%
Climbed 13.60 points and closed 0.3% to a record 4,141.59, which is the 21st of the year.
-0.74%
rose 146.10 points, or 1.1%, to 13,996.10, a meager 0.71% from the February 12 record. The Nasdaq 100 Index NDX,
-1.05%
also finished on a record on Tuesday.

What drives the market?

The stock traded mostly lower on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book survey of economic activity indicated a “moderate pace” of accelerated U.S. economic activity to start the year, but also a slight rise in inflation.

The Beige Book survey also showed that progress on the vaccination front is boosting the economic outlook.

The report comes as investors were looking at the results of JPMorgan Chase JPM in the first quarter,
-1.90%,
Goldman Sachs Group GS,
+ 2.97%
and Wells Fargo & Co. WFC,
+ 5.50%
Wednesday to determine what the rising gains on several of the country’s financial forces could mean for the broader economy.

All three major U.S. financial institutions have shown rising profits and a reduction in reserves, or the cushion banks have provided for potential losses due to loans. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF,
+ 0.76%,
which follows the performance of US banks was 0.9% higher.

“We’re getting a taste of what’s to come,” said Yung-Yu Ma, BMO Wealth Management’s chief investment officer, saying the big banks had increased profits and profits. “We think it’s going ahead for bank earnings and that’s something we think will probably last for the rest of this year.”

Mom also thinks there is a lot of economic momentum behind earnings in the broader corporate landscape, but will fit in closely with analysts asking for clues as to “which companies have price power.”

“It’s going to be uneven across the economy,” he told MarketWatch.

Wednesday is also the direct listing of Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange, on the Nasdaq. Shares opened at $ 381, before moving closer to $ 311.

“I knew Coinbase would be a big event,” said Anthull Denier, CEO of Webull, a trading platform popular with individual investors. ‘But I think everyone is amazed at how it is taken over [the focus] of the market, ”he said. “When I run a retail brokerage, my clients are currently fully focused on Coinbase.”

And although banking stocks have not been concentrated among its traders for some time, Denier said the early quarterly results point to a ‘festive season’ for large banks, thanks to the increase in IPOs, SPACs and other capital market activities during the pandemic. .

‘The first term is a story about great expectations. So far, companies are doing well here, ”Michael Reynolds, Glenmede Trust’s investment strategy officer, told MarketWatch, although he only reported a few companies.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday suggested that the Fed follow the same playbook it developed in 2013 and 2014 once it decided to reverse its asset-buying program, meaning a decline in asset -purchases ‘well before’ any interest rate would come. increases during a speech at the Economic Club of Washington.

Brett Ewing, chief market strategist at First Franklin Financial Services, said the general message from Powell’s market was still to expect the Fed’s easy-monetary policy to continue for some time to come.

“But I believe markets will raise rates sooner than the Fed is talking about,” he told MarketWatch.

In other economic data, the US import price index rose by 1.2% in March, and 0.8% for fuel prices. Economists polled by Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal predicted the 0.9% increase.

Which companies are in focus?

• Coinbase Global
  COIN,
  + 32.72%,
  one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges to come to light, dropped shares on their debut Wednesday and with the short high loan value of more than $ 100 billion.

• Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co.. fell 1.6% on Wednesday after CEO Jamie Dimon noted that lending demand would remain “challenged” even as the banking giant reported gains and earnings in the first quarter beating expectations.

• Dollar General Corp.. DG said on Wednesday that it aims to employ up to 20,000 people at personal and virtual rental events that the discount retailer will be offering from April 19 to April 23.

• Jack in the Box Inc. JACK announced on Wednesday that it will divorce Andrew Martin, who has been the effective chain information officer since November 2016 since November 2016, on May 7th.

• Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. rose 3% on Wednesday after the banking and brokerage firm reported record profits and revenue that beat expectations.

• Wells Fargo & Co.
  WFC,
  + 5.50%
  achieved stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue, boosted by the release of $ 1.6 billion in its credit loss reserves. Shares of Wells Fargo rose 5.4%.

• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
  BBBY,
  -11.62%
  inventories fell 10.4% after the household goods retailer reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations but fell short of sales.

How are other assets doing?

• The ICE US Dollar Index DXY,
  -0.18%,
  a measure of the currency against a basket of six major competitors, fell by 0.2%.

• US crude for delivery in May CL.1,
  + 4.45%
  rose 4.9% to hit a four-week high of $ 63.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

• The ten-year treasury return TMUBMUSD10Y,
  1.632%
  was a base point to 1.63%. Bond prices move inversely to yields.

• Gold futures ended lower, with the June contract GCM21,
  -0.58%
  by 0.7% to $ 1,736.30 per ounce.

• In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index SXXP rose 0.2%, while the London FTSE 100 UKX added 0.7%.

• In Asia, Shanghai’s SHCOMP rose 0.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng HSI closed 1.4% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK up 0.4%.

Mark DeCambre contributes reporting