What’s Driving Markets Wednesday? — TradingView News

March 13, 2024

A session marked by sector rotation is unfolding on Wednesday, with the tech sector giving back some of Tuesday’s gains, making way for the advance of energy and materials sectors following a surge in commodities prices.

The S&P 500 remained flat at 1 p.m. in New York, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 declined by 0.5%. In contrast, blue-chip and small-cap stocks saw increases of 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively.

Treasury yields saw a slight uptick, causing the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT to decline for the fifth consecutive session.

Commodities emerged as the strongest performers in the market. Copper surged by over 3%, reaching highs last observed in April 2023 as China announced plans to reduce output. Silver rose by 3.6% to $25/oz, the highest level since early December 2023, driven by growing demand for precious metals.

Gold was up 1%, on track to erase Tuesday’s losses, driven by a sharper-than-expected inflation surge in February.

Oil prices saw a nearly 2% surge, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rebounding to $79 a barrel, following a larger-than-anticipated decline in U.S. crude inventories last week.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices & ETFs	Price	1-Day %Chg
Russell 2000	2,079.28	0.7%
Dow Jones	39,190.39	0.5%
S&P 500	5,177.94	0.1%
Nasdaq 100	18,103.23	-0.6%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was flat at $516.85, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA inched 0.5% higher to $392.60 and the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ fell 0.6% to $441.06, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Sector-wise, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE, was the top performer, up by 1.7%, followed by the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund XLB, up by 1.5%, while the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK trailed, down by 1%.