Stocks took a dive on Wednesday as investors weighed strong earnings reports from retailers against elevated inflation concerns. All three market benchmarks slipped lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average underperforming as it fell over 200 points.
The Dow is now 1.7% from its record high, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are each less than 1% from their records. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq still remain in the green for the week, but the Dow has slipped into the red.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Biden asks FTC to investigate anti-consumer behavior by energy companies:
President Joe Biden on Wednesday sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting that the agency investigate "mounting evidence of anti-consumer behavior by oil and gas companies," according to a publicly published letter.
"Prices at the pump have continued to rise, even as refined fuel costs go down and industry profits go up," Biden said in the letter to the FTC. "I do not accept hard-working Americans paying more for gas because of anti-competitive or otherwise illegal conduct."
Biden's letter comes just days after he said combating rising prices was a "top priority" of his following the high inflation levels showed in the Consumer Price Index print for October, with increases in energy prices driving the month's gains.
Housing starts declined in October, building permits gained:
U.S. housing starts declined for a back-to-back month in October amid rising materials costs and labor shortages weighing on growth. On the brighterside, building permits rose, signalling positive outlooks for future construction.
Construction starts of residential homes dropped by 0.7% in October compared to September, falling to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.520 million, which is its lowest level since February. Starts for September were also downwardly revised to a 2.7% decline, compared to the 1.6% drop previously reported.
Building permits, however, gained by a greater-than-expected margin, rising by 4.0% in October compared to the 2.8% rise anticipated by consensus economists. October's gains followed a 7.8% monthly decline in September.
Here's how market benchmarks started trading soon after open:
S&P 500 Index: -0.11% or -5.06 points to 4,695.84
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.19% or -68.34 points to 36,073.88
Nasdaq Composite Index: -0.11% or -17.71 points to 15,956.14
