Stocks rose on Wednesday but closed mixed as market participants navigated through easing interest rates, ongoing political uncertainty developments in Washington, and the surging domestic and global coronavirus outbreak.
U.S. Treasury rates eased from their March highes on Wednesday, with the benchmark 10-year note yield slipping to 1.088%, while the 30-year bond yield fell to 1.823%. On Tuesday, the benchmark rate rose as high as 1.187%.
Meanwhile, consumer prices increased at a faster pace in December over November, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistic's Consumer Price Index (CPI). December recorded a 0.4% rise following November's 0.2% increase, matching consensus economist expectations. The increase was lead by a 8.4% jump in gasoline prices for the month. Excluding more volatile food and energy prices, the CPI was up 0.1% for December month-over-month, easing from November's 0.2% increase.
In Washington, Vice President Mike Pence announced that he would not invoke the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to remove President Donald Trump from his position following the civil unrest at the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday. This lead the House of Representatives to move forward to vote on impeaching the president for a second time on Wednesday.
Here is how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
For Stocks, Intel
For Sector Performance, sectors on the S&P 500 ended the regular trading session mostly higher, with Utilities
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar
For Thursday, traders will react to the verdict of the House of Representatives impeachment vote on Wednesday. Fresh weekly unemployment claims data is also slated to be released.