What Is the Stock Market Doing Today? Stocks Mixed as Bank Earnings Begin.

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U.S. stocks erased early gains by the end of the session Wednesday, with technology stocks weighing down broader benchmarks, after 

JPMorgan Chase

 and other U.S. banks reported strong profits.

The

Dow Jones Industrial Average

 rose 53.62 points, or 0.2%, to 33,730.89. It closed just 0.2% shy of a new record. The 

S&P 500

 declined 16.93 points, or 0.4%, to 4,124.66, and the 

Nasdaq Composite

 fell 138.26 points, or 1%, to 13,857.84.

Consumer discretionary, technology and communications stocks were the weakest performers in the S&P 500, with the sectors down 1.2%, 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively. The small-cap

Russell 2000

advanced 0.8%.

Large banks beat analysts’ earnings forecasts across the board. JPMorgan (ticker: JPM) reported a profit of $4.50 a share, easily topping estimates for $3.10 a share, while Goldman Sachs (GS) reported earnings of $18.60 a share, blowing by forecasts for $10.22 a share. Even Wells Fargo (WFC) topped earnings forecasts, reporting a profit of $1.05 a share, ahead of estimates for 70 cents.

The market reaction was mixed: JPMorgan stock was down 1.9%, while Wells Fargo gained 5.5% and Goldman Sachs rose 2.3%. Expectations were high for banks coming into earnings season, and the

KBW Bank Index

(BKX) is up more than 26% for the year, compared to a nearly 10% gain for the S&P 500.

And the price of Bitcoin hit a fresh record above $64,000 on Wednesday as Coinbase made its debut on the Nasdaq. The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange listed under the ticker COIN, and closed at $328.28 per share. While that marked a 31% gain from its reference price of $250, it was also 14% below its opening price of $381 and more than 20% below its session high of $429.54.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday. That was in response to a request by regulators to temporarily halt

Johnson & Johnson’s

 (JNJ) Covid-19 vaccine shots, after six people who received the J&J shot were diagnosed with severe blood clots.

On the economic front, several Federal Reserve officials were scheduled to speak on Wednesday. Chair
Jerome Powell
spoke at noon Eastern but provided little in the way of news for bond-market investors. The 10-year Treasury yield held its slight early gains from before the Q&A with the Economic Club of New York, up one basis point, or hundredths of a percentage point, at 1.64%.

Prices for U.S. crude and global benchmark Brent climbed sharply, after the International Energy Agency lifted its annual forecast for global oil demand in 2021 in its monthly report, saying the energy industry is well on its way to recovery from the pandemic.

The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.2%, and the French

CAC 40

climbed about 0.4% as

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton

shares surged in Paris on strong results. In the first quarter since the integration of U.S. jeweler Tiffany, LVMH’s watches and jewelry unit saw organic revenue growth of 35% year over year, while core fashion saw growth of 52%.

The

Hang Seng Index

climbed 1.4%, but the

Nikkei 225

fell 0.4%. Shares of

Toshiba

surged nearly 6% after the Japanese technology and manufacturing conglomerate’s president
Nobuaki Kurumatani
resigned. The company said a week ago it was considering a merger with a global fund where he previously worked.

Exxon Mobil

 (XOM) gained 2.9% after getting upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Raymond James.

Vornado Realty Trust

 (VNO) fell 1.6% after getting cut to Underperform from Neutral at BofA.

Bed Bath & Beyond

 (BBBY) tumbled 12% after the company reported a profit of 40 cents a share, topping estimates for 31 cents a share, but missed on sales.

Discovery

 (DISCA) stock dropped 5% as Credit Suisse continued to sell shares related to the Archegos blowup.

Galapagos

 (GLPG) climbed 2.8% after getting upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

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