Stocks closed higher Wednesday as the Federal Reserve decided to leave its key interest rate unchanged while noting that the economic outlook has become more uncertain.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 gained 0.9% and 1.1%, respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.4%. Stocks have now finished higher in three of the last four sessions as the market rebounds from an extended selloff. Coming into this week, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite had lost ground for four consecutive weeks, as investor sentiment has been dented by uncertainty surrounding the potential impact of policies coming from the Trump White House, notably tariffs, and concerns that U.S. economic growth could slow significantly.
The Fed, which had been expected to stand pat on rates, said in a statement Wednesday at the end of a two-day policy meeting that “economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace.” However, the central bank added, “Uncertainty around the economic outlook has increased.”
The Fed’s Summary of Economic Projections, which is released once a quarter, showed that policy committee members have lowered their expectations for economic growth in 2025, while they see inflation rising more than they did in their assessment three months ago. The committee members continue to expect two interest rate cuts in 2025.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell, speaking at a post-meeting press conference, said the Fed is well-positioned to respond to whatever comes next, and is in no hurry to adjust rates as it waits for further clarity on the impact of Trump administration policies.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which has fallen in recent months as concerns about the economy have risen, was at 4.25% late Wednesday, down from an intraday high of 4.32% and trading at its lowest levels in more than a week.
Boeing (BA) led S&P 500 and Dow gainers on Wednesday, rising nearly 7% after the aircraft manufacturer reached a deal to sell more planes to Japan Airlines. Sentiment also received a boost from comments by CFO Brian West, who said at a conference this morning that the company’s cash position has improved.
Shares of the world’s largest technology companies, which have endured a volatile several weeks, were up across the board. EV maker Tesla (TSLA), which has lost about half its market value the past three months, added nearly 5%, while Nvidia (NVDA) rose about 2%, recovering from losses yesterday that followed a highly anticipated presentation by CEO Jensen Huang. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Broadcom (AVGO) also gained ground.
Among other noteworthy tech names, shares of advertising platform AppLovin (APP) and server marker Super Micro Computer (SMCI), two AI investor favorites that fell sharply yesterday, each rose about 6%. Shares of Intel (INTC), which coming into today’s session had gained 25% since the chipmaker named a new CEO last week, dropped 7% to lead S&P 500 decliners.
Strategy (MSTR), formerly known as MicroStrategy and one of the world’s largest holders of bitcoin, jumped more than 7%, pacing Nasdaq advancers, as the price of the digital currency rose. Bitcoin was trading at $85,800 recently, up from an overnight low of $81,800.
Gold futures were up 0.6% at $3,060 an ounce, trading near a record high, while West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rose 0.4% to $67.20 per barrel.
These Were the Big S&P 500 Movers on Wednesday
3 hr 18 min ago
Advancers
- Shares of aerospace giant Boeing (BA) soared 6.8%, logging the S&P 500’s top performance on Wednesday. The move higher followed several positive signals for the plane manufacturer, including an announcement that Japan Airlines has placed an order for 17 of Boeing’s 737-8 aircraft. In addition, Boeing’s chief financial officer Brian West downplayed the potential impact of U.S. tariffs on the company, while analysts at Bank of America said they expect Boeing to achieve a month-over-month uptick in plane deliveries in March.
- Super Micro Computer (SMCI) unveiled new systems that incorporate the Blackwell Ultra platform, the latest generation of artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Nvidia (NVDA). The updated products are designed to handle complex AI tasks such as training models, graphics, and visualization. Supermicro stock gained 5.8% on Wednesday, clawing back a portion of the steep losses posted in the previous session.
- Caesars Entertainment (CZR) shares jumped 5.7% after the resort and casino operator announced that two additional independent members would join its board of directors. Executives from Icahn Enterprises (IEP) will occupy both new board seats. Founder and controlling shareholder of the investment firm Carl Icahn previously indicated that he would not engage in activism related to operations at Caesars, but following the board deal, the major investor discussed the possibility of exploring strategic options for the gaming company’s digital business.
Decliners
- Intel (INTC) shares failed to build on their five-day winning streak, declining the most of any S&P 500 stock on Wednesday with a drop of 6.9%. Recent enthusiasm for the stock has revolved around the chipmaker naming semiconductor industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO. The incoming top executive, who officially took the helm of Intel this week, has reportedly discussed significant restructuring moves including middle-management staff cuts, changes to manufacturing processes, and shifts in AI strategy.
- Progressive (PGR) stock slipped 3.5% after the insurer released its results from February 2025. Although the company achieved strong year-over-year gains in premiums and net income, Progressive reported a total pretax net realized loss on securities of $110 million, down sharply from a gain of $80 million in February 2024.
- Shares of biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences (GILD) fell 2.5% following reports that the Department of Health and Human Services is considering sharp reductions in federal funding for HIV prevention. HIV treatments, including pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs prescribed as a preventive measure for people at risk of contracting the virus, accounted for more than half of Gilead’s revenue last year.
Magnificent 7 Not So Magnificent
3 hr 47 min ago
Meta Platforms (META) this week became the last of the group of Big Tech stocks to slip into negative territory for the year. The remainder—Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), and Tesla (TSLA)—are down between 8% and 42% at Wednesday’s close since the start of the year.
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The Magnificent Seven stocks have been in the driver’s seat of the U.S. stock market since the end of 2022 when cooling inflation and the explosive popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT sparked the AI rally that minted the concept of the Mag Seven. The tech giants accounted for more than 50% of the S&P 500’s gains in 2023 and 2024. The index rose more than 20% in each of those years, its first such streak since the 1990s.
Some market watchers have been warning for a while that the narrow bull market was an unsustainable one, and there’s evidence that the Mag Seven’s dominance has come back to haunt the stock market this year. The Mag Seven stocks are down nearly 15% since the start of the year, while the S&P 500 is down about 4%, and the equal-weighted S&P 500 is down less than 1%.
Read the full article here.
Shares of These Nvidia Partners Got a Boost Wednesday
4 hr 41 min ago
Shares of several of Nvidia’s (NVDA) partners surged Wednesday following yesterday’s highly anticipated remarks from CEO Jensen Huang at the company’s GTC event.
Coherent (COHR), which produces components used in data centers, saw its stock jump close to 7%, while shares of server maker Supermicro (SMCI) and Amphenol (APH), which makes copper cables for Nvidia, added close to 6%.
Corning (GLW), Lumentum (LITE), and Fabrinet (FN) shares climbed as well, with JPMorgan analysts telling clients the companies could be poised for growth as Nvidia’s clients scale their artificial intelligence capabilities.
The analysts said Huang “alleviated investor concerns” by telling GTC attendees he believes data center capital expenditures could exceed $1 trillion by 2028. Some investors have worried about the impact of lower-cost AI models, like DeepSeek’s R1, on companies’ willingness to invest in AI infrastructure, JPMorgan said.
Wedbush analysts said they expect strong demand for Nvidia’s chips could have a “ripple impact,” estimating that for every $1 spent on an Nvidia chip there could be a $8 to $10 multiplier “across the tech ecosystem with the hyperscalers, software, data center buildouts, cyber security, and energy demand all benefiting.”
S&P 500 Turns Positive for the Week
5 hr 1 min ago
With Wednesday’s solid gains, the S&P 500 has inched into positive territory for the week, as the benchmark index seeks to snap a four-week losing streak.
The S&P 500 has gained 0.6% so far this week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has added 1.1%, The Nasdaq Composite, which has also lost ground in each of the last four weeks, is fractionally lower for the week.
Despite gaining ground in three of the last four sessions, each of the major indexes remains down sharply so far in March, led by the Nasdaq’s near-6% decline.
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What Analysts are Saying About Nvidia’s GTC
6 hr 11 min ago
Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang’s highly anticipated GTC keynote failed to deliver a big boost to the company’s stock, though analysts remain bullish on its potential for AI-driven growth.
Benchmark analysts pinned the muted market reaction on “the company’s reiteration of its previously well-discussed roadmap,” while reiterating a price target of $190.
“Although Jensen’s keynote may not have been the savior of the company’s declining stock price that many had hoped for, we question what more the company could have said,” the analysts added.
David Paul Morris / Bloomberg / Getty Images
At the event, Nvidia said its Blackwell Ultra chips will launch later this year, followed by its next-generation Vera Rubin platform in 2026, and Rubin Ultra in 2027. Those announcements were largely consistent with analysts’ expectations, though Morgan Stanley said Nvidia “made a strong case” for its ability to deliver product leadership in AI through at least 2027.
The chipmaker also highlighted strong commitment from its major cloud customers as AI technology scales, Morgan Stanley said, maintaining an “overweight” rating and $162 price target.
Jefferies and Citi analysts echoed those comments, reiterating targets of $185 and $163, respectively, pointing to Nvidia’s rapid pace of AI innovation relative to its peers.
Nvidia shares were up 3% at around $119 in late trading Wednesday. The stock is down 15% since the start of the year.
Fed Leaves Key Rate Unchanged Amid Economic Uncertainty
6 hr 45 min ago
As widely expected, the Federal Reserve held its key interest rate steady, waiting for the economy to send signals about its trajectory amid uncertainty about the effects of President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
The Federal Reserve’s policy committee held the fed funds rate in a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, where it’s been since January. The key interest rate, which influences borrowing costs on all kinds of loans, is high enough that Fed officials consider it a drag on both inflation and the growth of the economy.
Fed officials aim to keep the fed funds rate high enough to push down inflation, which has stayed stubbornly above the Fed’s goal of a 2% annual rate in recent months, but not so high it dampens business to the point where unemployment rises severely. Trump’s campaign of imposing tariffs on trading partners complicates the outlook for the Fed, since it could both slow the economy and push up inflation, according to economic forecasters, and has caused uncertainty among business leaders and consumers that itself could damage the economy.
“Uncertainty around the economic outlook has increased,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement accompanying the interest rate decision.
Roberto Schmidt / AFP / Getty Images
The Fed’s outlook for the economy has worsened since December when officials last projected inflation, unemployment, and interest rates.
At Wednesday’s meeting, members of the Federal Open Market Committee penciled in the unemployment rate rising to 4.4% by the end of the year, up from 4.3% in December; inflation as measured by core Personal Consumption Expenditures rising 2.8% over the year, up from 2.5% in the December projections; and the Gross Domestic Product rising 1.7%, down from the 2.1% growth the most recent forecast
Boeing Stock Surges on JAL Order, Positive CFO Comments
8 hr 2 min ago
Boeing (BA) shares jumped Wednesday after Japan Airlines announced that it has ordered 17 new 737-8 aircraft from the plane maker.
The airline said it will add the 17 planes on top of a March 2023 order for 21 of the same plane, and 11 planes from Airbus that will replace its aging Boeing 767 aircraft. The 38 total Boeing 737-8 planes are expected to be delivered to the airline in fiscal 2026, with other aircraft from Boeing and Airbus expected in fiscal 2027 and 2028.
Daniel Slim / AFP / Getty Images
Separately Wednesday, Bank of America analysts said that another research firm, Aero Analysis Partners, predicts that Boeing’s March deliveries will be higher than last month, and possibly match or exceed the 40 it delivered in January. The analysts maintained a neutral rating with a $185 price target.
Also Wednesday, Boeing CFO Brian West said at an industry conference that Boeing doesn’t see “material near-term impact” from the Trump administration’s tariffs on goods like aluminum and steel. West said Boeing’s supply chain is largely U.S.-based, and said its first quarter results appear to be in line with expectations, according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense.
“We’re seeing less working capital drag,” West said when asked about the first quarter. “So, that could be better when we close the quarter and it could be in the hundreds of millions of cash flow better.”
Boeing shares were up more than 5% to lead S&P 500 and Dow gainers early Wednesday afternoon.
Falling Stocks are Threatening a Pillar of the ‘Real Economy’
9 hr 10 min ago
Falling stocks over the past few weeks could undermine consumer spending by reducing the “wealth effect.”
Richer households have been propping up the main pillar of the U.S. economy, consumer spending, partly because they have felt flush after years of rising stock prices.
The “wealth effect” is about four times as big as it usually is, so falling stocks could prompt more belt-tightening than normal, according to one analysis.
Read the full article here.
HealthEquity Plummets as Profit Hurt by Cyber Threats, Fraud
10 hr 1 min ago
Shares of HealthEquity (HQY) plunged Wednesday, a day after the Health Savings Account custodian missed profit estimates and gave weak guidance as it dealt with the costs of a rise in criminal activity targeting the firm.
The company reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.69, while analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for $0.71. Revenue rose 19% year-over-year to $311.8 million, exceeding expectations.
In a transcript of the analyst call provided by AlphaSense, CEO Scott Cutler explained that along with other financial firms, HealthEquity has seen “increased cyber threats and fraud attacks from bad actors using sophisticated technology, techniques and methods.” Cutler noted those activities “led to excess service expense.”
CFO James Lucania said gross profit was cut by about $17 million because of additional service costs “incurred to protect members from and reimburse those impacted by sophisticated fraud activity and to assist members during our card processor consolidation.”
HealthEquity sees full-year adjusted EPS of $3.57 to $3.74, and revenue from $1.280 billion to $1.305 billion. The Visible Alpha estimates were for $3.66 and $1.302 billion, respectively.
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HealthEquity shares were down 18% in recent trading and have moved into negative territory for the past year.
Signet Soars on Strong Earnings, Rosy Outlook
11 hr 11 min ago
Signet Jewelers (SIG) shares soared more than 20% Wednesday morning after the jewelry retailer posted better-than-anticipated profit and sales, issued a rosy outlook, and announced plans to reduce its real-estate footprint.
The owner of Zales, Jared, and Kay Jewelers reported fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $6.62, while analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha expected $6.25. While revenue fell 6% year-over-year to $2.35 billion and same-store sales declined 1.1%, they also beat expectations.
CEO J.K. Symancyk credited the performance to Signet’s “depth of assortment at key price points while also benefiting from improved Bridal trends.” Symancyk added that the company benefited from its “Grow Brand Love” strategy to expand its business.
COO and CFO Joan Hilson said as part of the reorganization plan, Signet was “focused on real estate optimization and (expects) to transition over 10% of mall locations to off-mall and the eCommerce channel over the next three years.”
The company sees current-quarter revenue coming in at $1.50 billion to $1.53 billion, and same-store sales flat to 2.0% higher. The Visible Alpha forecasts were for $1.51 billion and up 0.65%, respectively.
Even with this morning’s 22% increase, Signet Jewelers shares are down more than 40% over the last 12 months.
General Mills Falls on Weak Sales, Outlook
11 hr 47 min ago
General Mills (GIS) shares fell in early trading Wednesday after the cereal giant issued a downbeat outlook and posted quarterly sales that undershot forecasts.
The maker of Lucky Charms cereal and Fruit Roll-Ups said sales for its fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 23 lagged expectations, “driven by retailer inventory headwinds in North America Retail and North America Pet, a slowdown in U.S. snacking categories, and softer demand in U.S. away-from-home food channels.”
General Mills reported net sales of $4.84 billion, down 5% year-over-year and below the $4.96 billion analysts had expected, per Visible Alpha. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.00 fell 15% on a constant-currency basis but came in above the $0.95 consensus.
General Mills, which said it “expects macroeconomic uncertainty to continue to impact consumers in the fourth quarter,” also lowered its fiscal 2025 outlook.
It now expects organic net sales to fall between 1.5% and 2%, compared with its previous forecast of flat to up 1%. Adjusted EPS is seen down 7% to 8% in constant currency versus its previous projection for a decline of 2% to 4%. Analysts were expecting sales to decline by about 0.5% and adjusted EPS to rise by roughly 2%.
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General Mills shares, which had lost 12% of their value in the past 12 months entering Wednesday, were down 3% in recent trading.
Watch These Nvidia Stock Price Levels
12 hr 45 min ago
Nvidia (NVDA) shares moved higher in premarket trading after falling Tuesday following a highly anticipated keynote address from CEO Jensen Huang at the AI chipmaker’s GTC conference.
During his two-hour presentation, Huang unveiled the company’s roadmap for the next two years, providing updates about its Blackwell and next generation Rubin chips, while also showcasing cutting edge AI tech for robotics and telecommunications. Huang also announced a new partnership with General Motors (GM) to train AI manufacturing models.
The flurry of announcements wasn’t enough to lift investor spirits. Nvidia shares, which were down about 1% before the CEO started speaking, closed the day down more than 3% lower. Investors will be on the lookout for further updates from Nvidia as the conference continues in the next few days.
Since setting a record high in January, Nvidia shares have traded within a descending channel, potentially undergoing a consolidation phase before resuming their longer-term uptrend. More recently, the stock found buyers near the descending channel’s lower trendline, though price action has remained lackluster since. Meanwhile, the relative strength index (RSI) remains below the 50 threshold, pointing to weak momentum.
Investors should monitor key support levels on Nvidia’s chart around $96 and $76, while also tracking important resistance levels near $132 and $150.
The stock was up 1.4% at $117 in recent premarket trading.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Futures Point to Higher Open for Major Indexes
13 hr 25 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%.
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S&P 500 futures added 0.2%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.3%.
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