The S&P 500 fell for a fifth day as traders weighed the possibility of a recession, and the likelihood of a longer-than-expected hiking cycle from the Federal Reserve.
The S&P slipped 0.19% to end the session at 3,933.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a gain of 1.58 points, roughly flat, to finish the session at 33,597.92. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.51% to end at 10,958.55.
Bond yields also fell, with the rate on the 10-year Treasury note at one point touching a low of 3.402%.
Stocks wavered between gains and losses in choppy trading, with the S&P rising as much as 0.41%. At its lows, the benchmark index fell 0.47%.
"The market's kind of bobbing and weaving and finding its breath after the big rally off the October lows," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at the Carson Group. He expects markets to continue this trend until investors receive more clarity from the Fed's December policy meeting and November's consumer price index report.
Next week, the central bank is widely expected to deliver a 50 basis point rate hike. While the move would be a smaller one compared to the previous four rate hikes, concerns are swirling over whether the Fed can engineer a so-called soft landing while successfully tamping down inflation.
Worries about a recession in 2023 have spooked some investors in recent days.
"All told, financial indicators point to a recession on the horizon," wrote Wells Fargo's Azhar Iqbal in a note to clients Wednesday. "The S&P 500 has peaked ahead of recessions with an average lead time of four months over the past few business cycles.
Investors await more economic data this week for clues on what to expect from the Fed, with jobless claims data due out Thursday. November's producer price index and preliminary consumer sentiment data for December are slated for Friday.
Stocks are on pace for weekly losses, with the Dow down 2.42%. The S&P and Nasdaq are off by 3.38% and 4.39%, respectively.
Stocks closed mostly lower Wednesday, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.19% to close at 3,933.92.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat, or 1.58 points higher, to finish the session at 33,597.92. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.51% to end at 10,958.55.
— Samantha Subin
Layoffs, or news of workforce reductions, have hit the technology sector in recent weeks, but certain sectors are clearly feeling more pain than others, Jefferies says.
Areas suffering the most in this shakeup include property technology and online auto stocks, wrote analyst Brent Thill in a note to clients Wednesday. That includes names like Carvana, which laid off 8% of its workforce last month, and Redfin. Advertising is also experiencing solid declines as companies navigate a slowdown.
"Our proprietary scrape of job listings shows a decline in job openings across our coverage as headcount reductions accelerate into the end of the year," he wrote.
The sector layoffs come in response to the over-hiring companies partook in during the pandemic, with many technology bellwethers now facing slower-than-expected growth as the consumer weakens and a downturn looms.
Within Jefferies' coverage, a proprietary scrape of data suggests Microsoft's experienced an 85% decline in active job listings since the start of 2022. Listings at Snap, meanwhile, are down 84%.
— Samantha Subin
Don't be surprised if economic data coming out over the next week kicks off a rally into the end of the year and potentially 2023, according to Andrew Slimmon, Morgan Stanley Investment Management's senior portfolio manager.
The key period of data releases begins Friday with the producer price index, followed by November's consumer price index and another likely rate hike from the Federal Reserve next week.
"The last time those were released they all led to rallies in the stock market because we had better inflation prints," he said.
Like many investors, Slimmon expects a downturn ahead, given the inverted yield curve, but does not anticipate the "big earnings collapse," or downturn, many people are predicting in the first quarter.
This is in part due to the fact that many consumers have beefed up savings in recent years given the proximity of the most recent recession.
"The message of this year is that the economy has proven far more resilient than many people expect and I don't think next quarter is going to be the end of that," he said.
— Samantha Subin
Deutsche Bank said it expects Lululemon to beat third quarter estimates when it reports its financial results on Thursday, thanks to better-than-expected revenues, particularly in North America.
"LULU's customer base remains relatively healthy and we think improved inventory flow along with new product launches (and the membership program) likely led to robust sales trends despite the challenging macro environment," analyst Gabriella Carbone said in a note Wednesday.
The firm also raised its forecast for fourth-quarter earnings.
"We expect the company to guide closer to our revised forecast, but see the opportunity for upside as we are currently modeling a deceleration in the company's three-year top-line CAGR," she added.
— Tanaya Macheel
Stocks were slightly lower as the final hour of trading kicked off.
The S&P 500 last traded down 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded flat, and Nasdaq Composite shed 0.5%.
— Samantha Subin
This year has been a rough one for investors with significant fixed income holdings, but the end result is that bonds may now be more attractive than at any point last decade.
Steve Foresti, the chief investment officer for asset allocation and research at Wilshire, said there is now "fuel in the tank" for high quality bonds after Federal Reserve rate hikes drove yields higher, potentially making fixed income a more important part of portfolios.
This is in stark contrast to the low rate environment that followed the financial crisis and then again at the start of the pandemic, when the Fed cut rates to near zero.
"Especially for investors who reduced allocations, I think this is an opportunity to revisit that decision and maybe slide back down on the risk curve a bit," Foresti said.
Foresti added that the expected return for core bond holdings has doubled over the course of this year, given high rates now and Wilshire's expectation that inflation will decline going forward.
— Jesse Pound
Even though technology companies have had a rough year in the stock market, it's not time to throw in the towel on the sector, according to Karen Firestone, CEO of Aureus Asset Management.
Instead, she said that investors should look at multiples of technology names compared to other industries, such as consumer stocks, and determine what they'd rather own.
It's also an opportunity to pick up stocks poised for growth, she said.
"Don't give up on tech now - buy low, sell high," she said.
—Carmen Reinicke
Bank of America sees both short and long-term gains on the horizon for SolarEdge.
Analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith upgraded the solar stock to buy from neutral and increased his price target to $367, which presents an upside of 22.8% from where it closed Tuesday. The stock could rise even higher beyond the 12 months, he said.
"We acknowledge credit where it's due and highlight tangibly clearer visibility over the near to medium term," Dumoulin-Smith said in a note to clients.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.
The stock is up more than 3% in trading Wednesday.
— Alex Harring
Shares of online used car retailer Carvana cratered more than 30% Wednesday on news that the company's largest creditors have signed a cooperation agreement to last at least three months.
The pact, first reported by Bloomberg, includes creditors such as Apollo Global Management and Pacific Investment Management that hold around $4 billion of Carvana's unsecured debt, or about 70% of the total outstanding.
In the past, similar agreements have helped prevent creditor fights that have complicated other debt restructurings.
— Michael Wayland, Samantha Subin
The S&P 500 should end 2023 about 9.1% higher than where it closed Tuesday, according to Ned Davis Research.
Downward pressure on the index should ease by the end of 2023, leading the index to around 4,300 points. That's about 350 points higher than where it last closed.
"Heading into 2023, the macro headwinds are largely still in place," Ed Clissold, the firm's chief U.S. strategist, said in a note to clients. "The key difference is that by the end of next year, many cycles should have rotated once again to being friendly to risk assets."
CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.
— Alex Harring
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Read the full list here.
— Sarah Min
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Read the full list here.
— Sarah Min
Morgan Stanley, once again, is cutting shipment forecasts for the latest iPhone in the December quarter.
The bank trimmed its estimates by another 3 million units, accounting for slowing production in China. Last month, analysts at the investment bank cut estimates by 6 million units.
The new expectations anticipate the technology giant will ship about 75.5 million iPhones.
Shares slumped about 1.5% midday.
— Ashley Capoot, Samantha Subin
Stocks wavered between gains and losses during midday trading Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded as high as roughly 178 points, or 0.53%, and as low as about 93 points, or 0.28%.
The S&P 500 traded between a 0.47% decline and a 0.41% gain. At one point, the Nasdaq Composite traded nearly 1% lower. At its highs, the tech-heavy index was up by 0.23%.
— Samantha Subin
Several stocks notched fresh 52-week and record highs on Wednesday.
Campbell Soup Company's stock surged 5% Wednesday to trade near levels not seen since March 2020, while Conagra Brands hovered near levels not seen since June 2021.
These stocks also hit fresh highs:
Some stocks also hit new lows, including Salesforce, which traded near levels last seen in April 2020.
These stocks also notched new lows:
— Samantha Subin, Chris Hayes
Travel names fell as a group during midday trading, with many airline stocks declining.
Online travel stocks dropped after Wolfe Research downgraded the sector to market underweight from market weight, citing trouble ahead as investors weigh the likelihood of a recession. The firm named a worse outlook for names such as Booking Holdings, Airbnb, TripAdvisor and Expedia.
Airline stocks declined as well, with shares of Southwest Airlines falling more than 5%. Shares of Delta Air Lines and American Airlines declined more than 4%. Alaska Air Group and United Airlines Holdings each slipped more than 3%.
— Sarah Min
If history is any guide, don't expect this bear market to bottom as soon as a recession hits.
That's according to data from the Carson Group, which found that the eight bear markets connected to a recession since World War II continued even after a downturn ensued.
On average, these bear markets ended nine months after the start of a recession, wrote Ryan Detrick, the firm's chief market strategist in a tweet.
Data from Bank of America earlier this month highlighted a similar observation, with technical research strategist Stephen Suttmeier saying in a note to clients that the March 1945 to October 1945 recession marked the only instance where the S&P 500 rallied before and during a downturn.
— Samantha Subin
Wedbush downgraded Carvana as the user car seller faces yet another blow this year, this time raising concerns a bankruptcy could be on the horizon.
The downgrade to underperform from neutral came after Bloomberg News reported that a group of creditors including Apollo and Pimco agreed to unify in restructuring agreements. Analyst Seth Basham said the move will help quell any infighting among stakeholders, which he said has plagued similar negotiations at other companies.
The stock dropped 35.2% in Wednesday trading, hitting a 52-week low. It's down 98.1% compared with the start of the year.
He gave a price target of $1 to the stock. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Alex Harring
Shares of 3M and Home Depot gained 2% and 1.4% respectively, boosting the Dow Jones Industrial Average by more than 160 points around 11 a.m. ET.
Merck, American Express, and UnitedHealth also added more than 1% each, contributing to the Dow's gains.
— Samantha Subin
Don't be surprised if tech's reign in the S&P 500 comes to an end in the not-too-distant future, according to Scott Chronert, Citi's U.S. equity strategist.
"What we're suggesting is that the valuation paradigm supporting big mega-cap tech over the past decade probably fades," he told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Wednesday, saying that over time it becomes increasingly difficult for companies to maintain their earnings growth trajectories.
Over the next two to five years he sees tech's weight in the S&P 500 coming down by 18% to 20%. As tech's weighting falls, industrials and materials will likely shift into leadership positions and to a "certain degree" energy, he said.
— Samantha Subin