Dow Jones falls on Powell’s back-to-back rate hike views; Tesla deliveries loom like apple eyes Milestone of $3 trillion

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% at the closing bell on Wednesday after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell indicated the possibility of further rate hikes this year.

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Earlier on Wednesday at the European Central Bank Forum in Portugal, Powell talked about raising interest rates again. The Fed chair’s observation comes on the heels of strong economic data on Tuesday that showed consumer confidence rose to its highest level since January 2022. The odds of a July rate hike rose to 81.8%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Two increases of 25 basis points would take the target rate to 5.5-5.75%.

Retail and wholesale inventories rose in May. Auto inventories rose and could support cooling inflation in the second half of the year and into 2024. However, Powell indicated back-to-back rate hikes may be necessary.

The S&P 500 rose from session lows to end unchanged at 4 p.m. ET, but the tech-dominated Nasdaq bucked the trend, rising 0.3% on Wednesday.

Volume was higher on the NYSE, but lower on the Nasdaq, compared to the same time on Tuesday.

The small-cap Russell 2000 rose 0.5%. Innovator IBD 50 (FFTY) ETD outperformed with a gain of 2%.

Crude oil jumped nearly 3% to trade at $69.70 a barrel as crude inventories fell for the week ended June 23. According to the US Energy Information Administration, inventories were 1% lower than the five-year average for this time of year.

The interest rate on the benchmark index for 10-year government bonds fell 5 basis points to 3.71%.

Stocks are moving today

Outside the Dow Jones industrials, leisure and travel stocks rose. carnival (CCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) rose for a second day. CCL plunged after earnings on Monday, but has risen to a 52-week high after a test of its 21-day moving average.

Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) fell more than 1% in early trade on news of a possible ban on shipping AI chips to China, but ended just 0.2% lower.

Shares of IBD Leaderboard stocks Tesla ( TSLA ) rose ahead of second-quarter deliveries this weekend.

HubSpot (HUBS), Wednesday’s stock of the day, rose above its 21-day moving average.

Generac ( GNRC ), also on the IBD Leaderboard, rose after the generator maker broke out on Tuesday. Shares are in a buy zone, according to IBD MarketSmith.

General Mills (GIS) fell 5% on weak outlook. Shares, which were trading below the 50-day line, undercut their base on Wednesday.

AeroVironment (AVAV) gapped higher on strong volume after the U.S. defense contractor announced strong Q4 results.

Shares of Pinterest ( PINS ) jumped 6% after Wells Fargo analysts upgraded their rating to overweight from equal weight with a price target of 34, up from 23. The stock makes an entry at 29.27.

Dow Jones stocks

Dow Jones technical director apple ( AAPL ) rose Wednesday as it nears a $3 trillion market cap. Shares of the iPhone maker are just a shade short of the 190.73 needed to reach that milestone, based on the number of shares outstanding.

Nike (NKE), in the Dow Jones Industrials, tested support at the 200-day line with earnings on Thursday.

Please follow Ramakrishnan on Twitter for more news on the stock market today.

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