US equities are largely smaller as economic data show an increase in early spring, a slight rise in inflation

The session saw the public listing of the Coinbase Global COIN cryptocurrency exchange,
+ 34.18%.

How is it traded compared to shares?

• Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
  + 0.29%
  rose 85 points, or 0.3%, to 33,763 after hitting an intraday record of 33,911.25.

• S&P 500 SPX,
  -0.25%
  it fell 14 points, or 0.3%, to 4,127, after falling negatively

• Nasdaq Composite COMP,
  -0.77%
  slipped 126 points, or 0.9%, to 13,869.

• Russell 2000 RUT,
  + 0.86%
  increased by 1.2%.

Tuesday, Dow DJIA,
+ 0.29%
it decreased by 68.13 points until the end of the year 33,677.27, a decrease of 0.2%. S&P 500 SPX,
-0.25%
rose 13.60 points, closing with 0.3%, to a record 4,141.59, the 21st of the year. Nasdaq Composite Composite Index,
-0.77%
it increased by 146.10 points, or 1.1%, to 13,996.10, with only 0.71% since the closing of the February 12 record. Nasdaq-100 NDX Index,
-1.10%
also finished at a record high on Tuesday.

What drives the market?

Shares are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book survey of economic activity indicated a “moderate pace” of accelerating US economic activity to start the year, but also a slight rise in inflation.

The Beige Book survey also showed that advances in vaccination would boost economic prospects.

The report comes as investors analyze first-quarter results from JPMorgan Chase JPM,
-1.88%,
Goldman Sachs Group GS,
+ 2.76%
and Wells Fargo & Co. WFC,
+ 5.49%
on Wednesday to assess what the rising profit of several of the nation’s financial powers could mean for the economy as a whole.

All three major US financial institutions have disclosed increased profits and a reduction in reserves, or the buffer banks allocated for potential losses on acid loans. Selected financial fund SPDR Fund XLF,
+ 0.74%,
which tracks the performance of US banks, increased by 0.9%.

“We get a taste of what’s next,” said Yung-Yu Ma, BMO Wealth Management’s chief investment strategist, about the increase in earnings and profits by large banks. “We believe this continues for bank earnings and is something we believe will probably last for the rest of this year.”

I also believe that there is a lot of economic momentum behind the gains in the wider corporate landscape, but it will be in line with attention as analysts call for clues as to “which companies have pricing power.”

“It will be uneven across the economy,” he told MarketWatch.

Also on Wednesday, the direct listing of Coinbase, the largest crypto-exchange in the US, on the Nasdaq is highlighted. Shares opened at $ 381, before falling closer to $ 311.

“We knew Coinbase would be an important event,” said Anthony Denier, CEO of Webull, a popular trading platform for individual investors. “But I think everyone is surprised by the way it is taken over [the focus] of the market, ”he said. “By running a retail brokerage, my clients are now fully focused on Coinbase.”

And while banking has not been concentrated among its merchants for some time, Denier said early quarterly results indicate a “holiday” for large banks due to rising IPOs, SPACs and other capital market during the pandemic.

“The first quarter is a story about high expectations. So far, the companies are delivering here in total, ”Michael Reynolds, an investment strategy officer at Glenmede Trust, told MarketWatch, although he warned that only a few companies reported.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested Wednesday that the Fed will follow the same game manual it developed in 2013 and 2014, once it decides to reverse its asset purchase program, which means reducing assets would be “long before” any interest rate. grew up during a speech at the Washington Economic Club.

Brett Ewing, chief market strategist at First Franklin Financial Services, said the general message of the Powell market was to expect the Fed’s light monetary policies to remain in place for some time.

“But I think the markets will value rate hikes sooner than the Fed is talking about,” he told MarketWatch.

In other economic data, the US import price index increased by 1.2% in March and by 0.8% for fuel prices. Economists surveyed by the Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.9% increase.

Which companies are concentrated?

• Coinbase Global
  CURRENCY,
  + 34.18%,
  One of the first cryptocurrency exchanges to go public saw shares rise and fall at their debut on Wednesday, with a short-term loan of more than $ 100 billion.

• Actions of JPMorgan Chase & Co.. fell 1.6 percent on Wednesday after CEO Jamie Dimon said the loan demand would remain “challenged” even as the banking giant reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded expectations.

• Dollar General Corp.. DG said on Wednesday that it aims to employ up to 20,000 people in in-person and virtual employment events that the discount retailer will host from April 19 to April 23.

• Jack in the Box Inc. JACK revealed on Wednesday that he will “separate” from Andrew Martin, who was the intelligence director of the fast food chain since November 2016, starting with May 7th.

• Actions of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. rose 3% on Wednesday after the bank and brokerage firm reported record profits and revenues that exceeded expectations.

• Wells Fargo & Co.
  WFC,
  + 5.49%
  it posted stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue in the first quarter, boosted by the release of $ 1.6 billion from its credit loss reserves. Wells Fargo shares rose 5.4%.

• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
  BBBY,
  -11.03%
  the stock fell 10.4% after the home goods retailer reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations but fell in sales.

How are other assets doing?

• ICE US Dollar DXY Index,
  -0.20%,
  a measure of the currency against a basket of six major rivals fell by 0.2%.

• Gross US products for May delivery CL.1,
  + 4.55%
  rose 4.9% to a 4-week high of $ 63.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

• The 10-year treasury bill produces TMUBMUSD10Y,
  1.633%
  increased by one basis point to 1.63%. Bond prices are reversing yields.

• Gold futures ended below, with the June GCM21 contract,
  -0.58%
  down 0.7% to $ 1,736.30 an ounce.

• In Europe, the Stoxx 600 SXXP rose 0.2%, while the FTSE 100 UKX in London added 0.7%.

• In Asia, Shanghai Composite SHCOMP gained 0.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng HSI closed 1.4%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK fell 0.4%.

Mark DeCambre contributes to the reporting