Wall Street closes mixed as financials lift S&P & Dow while tech weighs on Nasdaq

Rally seen in T-bond yields lifts financials on Wednesday.
Microsoft and Amazon drag technology lower.
Energy sector gains traction as WTI breaks above $71.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

After starting the day in a relatively calm manner, equity indexes in the U.S. traded mixed on Wednesday amid the varying performance of major sectors.

The 10-year T-bond yield rose to its highest level in more than four months at 3.092% to boost the S&P Financial Index, which closed the day with an impressive 1.76% gain. The financial-heavy Dow Jones Industrial Average added 161.34 points, or 0.6%, on a daily basis to close at 26,408.30. "Financials are going to respond to stronger data, very much keeping the Fed on the path of gradual policy normalization. We're going to get another Fed rate hike in the meeting coming up next week, and probably see an upgraded U.S. economic assessment," Matt Forester, chief investment officer at BNY Mellon's Lockwood Advisors in King of Prussia, PA, told Reuters.

Meanwhile, reports of the EU regulators looking into Amazon's online retail practices weighed on the company's shares and caused them to lose 0.75% today. Another tech-giant Microsoft dropped 1.33% and the S&P 500 Information Technology fell 0.1%. The tech-sensitive Nasdaq Composite Index finished the day with a loss of 4.63 points, or 0.06%, to close at 7,951.48 points.

Finally, the S&P 500 added 3.82 points, or 0.13%, to 2,908.13.

DJIA technical outlook via FXStreet Chief Analyst Valeria Bednarik

The Dow is on its way to retest record highs of 26,709 as, in the daily chart, technical readings maintain a bullish stance with no signs of giving up or having reached extreme conditions, as indicators continue advancing at a moderate pace within positive territory, while buying interest increases on intraday dips to a bullish 20 DMA.

Shorter term, and according to the 4 hours chart, technical indicators turned flat, the Momentum well into positive levels and the RSI at 73, as the index spent the second half of the day consolidating gains. In this last time frame, however, the DJIA remains above firmly bullish moving averages.

Support levels: 26,382 - 26,331 - 26,279.

Resistance levels: 26,463 - 24,502 - 24,561.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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