U.S. stocks were little changed Wednesday as traders looked to add to the gains seen in the previous session.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hovered around the flatline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 75 points, or 0.2%.
Arcadium Lithium jumped 30% in morning trading after Rio Tinto struck a dealto acquire the lithium producer for $6.7 billion.
Alphabet slipped as the Department of Justice indicated it was considering a possible Google breakup. U.S.-listed China stocks also struggled as investors took profits from the recent stimulus-fueled rally.
Wall Street is coming off a strong session driven by tech sector gains and easing oil prices. Those moves seemed to reflect growing optimism the Federal Reserve can navigate a soft landing, especially after last week’s jobs report showed continued strength in the labor market.
“There’s still a tug-of-war taking place between the ‘Big 4’ tailwinds (stimulus, disinflation, resilient growth, and healthy corporate performance) and rich valuations ... and the result is an SPX that’s caught in a sideways price pattern (albeit one that’s biased slightly to the upside),” wrote Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli.
Even with an underlying uptrend, markets could face further choppiness in what’s historically the most volatile month of the year, especially ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
On the economic front, investors are anticipating the latest meeting minutes from the Fed on Wednesday, due at 2 p.m. ET. The September consumer and producer price index readings are due out Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Earnings season kicks off Friday with the big banks JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
