On Wednesday the U.S. markets showed mixed results. By the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was calculated at 49,501 points, up 0.5 % from the previous day.
Only a few minutes earlier, the broader S&P 500 traded around 6,880 points, down 0.5 %, while the technology-focused Nasdaq 100 was at roughly 24,890 points, falling 1.8 %.
Christine Romar, Head of Europe at CMC Markets, said the anxiety that persisted after recent volatile sessions-particularly in precious metals-continued to affect the present and future risk appetite of investors worldwide. She added that the coming days will hinge on whether U.S. big‑tech stocks remain in favor with most investors and only bring in limited gains, or whether a selling trend takes hold. Given their high weighting, such a trend could drive indices lower even if rotation towards other sectors occurs.
Romar also noted that the planned release of the U.S. monthly labor market report, originally scheduled for Friday, has been postponed because of a brief shutdown, further heightening nervy sentiment among market participants.
Currency movements showed a slightly weaker euro in the evening: one euro bought 1.1805 U.S. dollars, meaning one dollar was worth 0.8471 euros.
The price of gold remained essentially unchanged; on the evening session a fine ounce fetched 4,947 U.S. dollars, equaling 134.74 euros per gram.
Oil prices meanwhile rose sharply. At about 22:00 German time, Brent crude – the North Sea benchmark – traded at 68.59 U.S. dollars per barrel, a 1.9 % increase over the close of the previous trading day.
