XOM - US Stocks Struggle As Fed Sounds Hawkish; Oil Treasury Yields Rise Further: What's Driving Markets Wednesday? | Benzinga
It’s another red session for Wall Street on Wednesday, with signs of a bearish trend becoming increasingly apparent.
The drivers behind the weakening risk sentiment continue to be the rise in crude oil prices, with WTI climbing to $93 per barrel, marking over a 3% gain in the session, and the increase in Treasury yields, with the 10-year reaching 4.6%.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari delivered hawkish remarks, asserting a significant likelihood of further interest rate hikes and indicating a lack of rate cuts in 2024.
Energy was by far the outperformer for the day, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) up over 2%, on track for its fourth straight month of gains.
Cues From Wednesday’s Trading:
Large-cap averages were all down on Wednesday, with blue-chip stocks in the Dow Jones underperforming both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100.
Surprisingly, small caps held remarkably well, with the Russell 2000 rising 0.6%.
US Index Performance On Wednesday
Index Performance (+/-) Value
Nasdaq 100 -0.27% 14,505.10
S&P 500 Index -0.46% 4,259.17
Dow Industrials -0.51% 33,448.30
Russell 2000 +0.61% 1,772.29
Analyst Color:
The stagflationary setup has led to a 40% spike in the VIX in September, and “we will see volatility through the end of the year, said Alex McGrath, chief investment officer for NorthEnd Private Wealth.
“Elevated yields will serve as a headwind to equities through the end ...