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Trading remains quiet over the holiday period.
Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images
Stocks ticked up slightly early Wednesday amid quiet trading over the holiday period. Investors remained optimistic despite rising Covid-19 cases.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
gained 11 points moments after Wednesday’s market open. If the Dow closes higher today, it will be the index’s sixth consecutive day of gains after rising 96 points Tuesday to close at 36,398. The
S&P 500
and
Nasdaq Composite index
were both up by 0.1%.
But despite the gains in the major indices, small-cap stocks were slipping, with the
Russell 2000 falling 0.1%
Overseas, the pan-European
Stoxx 600
was 0.2% higher and Tokyo’s
Nikkei 225
declined 0.6%.
While cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus continue to surge globally, a rise in Covid-19 infections has yet to derail the narrative of economic recovery or dent economic data.
“Markets are overwhelmingly pricing in the latest variant as a milder incarnation, despite its easier contractibility,” said Jeffrey Halley, an analyst at broker Oanda. “With market activity much reduced for the holiday season, investors continue to tentatively price in a global recovery hitting a minor bump, and not a pothole.”
In cryptocurrency markets,
Bitcoin
—the leading digital asset—was lower, having fallen around 4% from Tuesday to around $47,700 and trading at its lowest level since early last week.
“I suspect year-end book squaring into thin market conditions exaggerated the range,” noted Halley. “Only a weekly close below $40,000 will have me concerned that another major downside correction is in play.”
In the day ahead, investors will get official U.S. crude inventory data, which could add pressure to oil markets that have enjoyed a recent rally. Data reported by the American Petroleum Institute Tuesday showed inventories fell by more than three million barrels last week, supporting prices.
“Omicron’s rampage could show up in higher oil derivative stockpiles. That may give the oil recovery some food for thought but is very unlikely to derail it,” said Halley. “The fast-money tail-chasers inhabiting the oil market recently look like they are finally taking a holiday break instead of drinking too much coffee.”
Futures for international oil benchmark Brent slid 0.3% Wednesday to just below $79, while U.S. futures for West Texas Intermediate crude were down 0.5%, just below $76. Oil has risen some 4% so far this week.
Here are three stocks on the move Wednesday
Shares of
WDC
), a maker of hard drives, are the best performers in the S&P 500, with a 6.5% surge.
TuSimple
(TSP) was up 5.3%, with the autonomous trucking company’s stock set to reverse some of its 5.7% decline Tuesday.
Tesla
(TSLA) rose 0.1% CEO Elon Musk finished exercising expiring management stock options, buying 1.6 million shares in Tesla Tuesday before selling nearly one million.
VSCO
) shares surged 11% after announcing a $250 million accelerated share buyback program.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@dowjones.com and Carleton English at carleton.english@dowjones.com
