Traders experienced volatility on Wall Street, with major indexes sinking as much as 1% intraday before recovering by the close of trade. The Dow ended up 0.3%, the S&P 500 remained essentially flat, and the Nasdaq dipped slightly by 0.1%. Tech stocks fell by 0.2% while real estate and energy led the gainers with increases of 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively.
The Dow’s rise marked its 11th consecutive session gain, its longest winning streak since December 2019. In the foreign exchange market, the yen emerged as the biggest gainer among the G10 currencies, rising more than 1% to 142 yen per dollar. Sterling also jumped 0.9%, matching last September’s high of $1.3434, levels not seen since over three years ago.
Wall Street experiences market swings
U.S. bond yields fell by as much as 7 basis points at the short end, resulting in a bull steepening of the curve. Oil prices declined to close at $65.86 per barrel.
Chinese financial heavyweights, including Bank of China, HSBC, China Construction Bank, and ICBC, released their earnings reports. European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone and Bank of England Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden made public appearances, addressing the latest economic conditions. Germany’s GfK consumer confidence for May and U.S. consumer confidence for April were closely watched by investors.
As the trading session progressed, shares struggled for direction on Wednesday and oil prices slid. Investors awaited a raft of important economic data, potentially underlining recent corporate warnings regarding the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.