Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on November 02, 2023 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
The S&P 500 slipped on Wednesday, struggling to extend its longest winning streak in about two years.
The broader market index fell 0.3% along with the Nasdaq Composite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 109 points, or 0.3%.
“The market is starting to set up for the Fed moving to the sidelines, and we may get a soft landing,” said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise. “Equities were really oversold for the last couple of months, and they’re finally seeing a little bit of a rebound.”
While upcoming inflation and economic prints will likely factor into equity gains from here, data continues to signal that the economy is slowing but not falling off a cliff, he added.
In other news, Rivian slipped nearly 2% even after posting better-than-expected results, while Robinhood sank 14% after posting significant declines in trading volumes. Warner Bros. Discovery sank 15% after posting a wider-than-expected loss, while Roblox popped 17% on strong results.
Stocks are coming off a winning session. The S&P 500 clinched its seventh straight positive session Tuesday, while the Nasdaq advanced for an eighth day. Both indexes notched their longest winning streaks since November 2021. The Dow also posted a seven-day winning run.
These gains come as earnings season winds down. About 88% of companies in the broad-based index have posted results, with more than 88% beating earnings estimates. Slowing demand, however, has translated to only 62% topping revenue expectations.
“All the big tech stocks have already reported; we kind of know where everybody is at this point,” said Ken Mahoney, the CEO of Mahoney Asset Management. “So there really shouldn’t be too many surprises at this point.”
Ongoing equity gains, led by big-cap technology stocks, and combined with muted central bank action, could set the market up nicely into 2024, Mahoney added.
Earnings season continues after the bell with results from Walt Disney, Affirm Holdings and MGM Resorts.