US stocks retreated on Wednesday as investors weighed the latest big bank earnings and economic data, while on alert for a potential US response to unrest in Iran.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank 1%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.8%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) moved down around 0.5%, coming off a pullback in financial stocks on Tuesday that dragged Wall Street indexes off record highs.
Worries about US action against Iran rose as President Trump ramped up military threats in response to a deadly crackdown on public protests. Oil prices climbed to a two-month high after Iran warned it will retaliate to any American strikes and the US withdrew some staff from bases in the region.
That provided a backdrop to quarterly reports from Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC), which both posted a surge in profit as trading activity powered results. But their stocks fell, along with that of Citigroup (C), adding to the early earnings-season malaise that began with an underwhelming release from heavyweight JPMorgan Chase (JPM).
On the macro front, investors parsed muted wholesale inflation data, adding to a mild reading on consumer inflation on Tuesday that firmed up bets on the Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady in January. Retail sales, meanwhile, rose more than expected in November in a shutdown-delayed release.
The prospect of a boost from more Fed rate cuts helped send gold (GC=F) and silver (SI=F) to fresh record highs, with silver briefly breaking above $90 for the first time. The blistering rally in precious metals is also being stoked by rising geopolitical tensions and escalated attacks on the Fed, both with President Trump at their center.
Also, markets were on alert to hear from the Supreme Court, which again declined to rule on a closely watched challenge to Trump’s authority to set tariffs. Trump has framed the case as a national security flashpoint, saying if it rules against him, “WE’RE SCREWED!”
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Yahoo Finance’s Claire Boston reports:
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Big Tech equities dropped across the board Wednesday.
The decline was led by a roughly 5% dip in Broadcom (AVGO) shares, followed by pullbacks in Tesla (TSLA) and Nvidia (NVDA).
The drops come as the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the market lower in late morning trading, sinking 1.6%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) was 1% lower and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) sank 0.6%.
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The US Supreme Court did not rule on legal challenges to President Trump’s most sweeping tariffs on Wednesday, marking the latest opportunity for the country’s highest court to pass without a decision.
Investors will have to wait at least another week for a ruling that will have huge implications for companies bringing lawsuits against the government in the hopes of securing refunds for the import duties.
Trump has attempted to frame the case as a national security flashpoint on social media, saying in a Truth Social post that, if it rules against him, “WE’RE SCREWED!”
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Saks Global filed for bankruptcy late on Tuesday. The company has struggled to pay for its $2.7 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus in late 2024 and missed a $100 million interest payment.
The luxury retailer behind Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman confirmed it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and secured a financing commitment of roughly $1.75 billion.
Richard Baker, who began his CEO role just two weeks ago, stepped down on Tuesday after taking over the position from longtime executive Marc Metrick. Former Neiman Marcus CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck will take the helm immediately. Saks also named a new chief commercial officer and chief of global brand partnerships.
“This is a defining moment for Saks Global, and the path ahead presents a meaningful opportunity to strengthen the foundation of our business and position it for the future,” van Raemdonck said in a press release.
All locations of its stores will remain open throughout the bankruptcy process, which the company hopes to emerge from.
Saks isn’t alone in facing a tougher operating environment, as consumers remain worried about rising prices and turn to off-price retailers in search of value.
Many known retailers like Macy’s (M) and Kohl’s (KSS) have closed some of their stores in the near term, while other retailers such as Joann Fabrics, Party City, Forever 21, and Rite Aid have also fallen into bankruptcy. The Container Store emerged from its bankruptcy filing.
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Stocks fell at the market open on Wednesday as investors overlooked upbeat bank earnings and absorbed fresh inflation data while eyeing a potential Supreme Court ruling on tariffs as well as signs of potential US military action on Iran.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slid 0.8%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell nearly 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) moved down around 0.2%, as a pullback in financial stocks dragged Wall Street indexes off record highs.
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Nvidia (NVDA) shares moved fractionally lower in premarket trade Wednesday as Reuters reported that Chinese customs authorities are not allowing the entrance of the tech giant’s H200 AI chips into the country.
Simmering — at some points boiling — geopolitical tensions between the US and China have disrupted Nvidia’s sales to what was once, in the not-so-distant past, the chipmaker’s second-most important market.
While initial disruption came from the US government as Trump restricted Nvidia’s lowest-end AI chip sales to the country during the launch of his administration’s trade war in April 2025, the president reversed his stance after intense lobbying by CEO Jensen Huang. But Trump’s request for a kickback from Nvidia’s China sales turned off officials in Beijing, who began clamping down on imports.
Trump relaxed his posture further in the last two months, saying he would allow Nvidia to export higher-power H200 chips to China in exchange for a cut of those sales. The US formally approved H200 exports to the country with some conditions on Tuesday.
But China’s restrictions complicate Nvidia’s path into what CEO Huang has said is a $50 billion AI market.
“Officials are prioritizing domestic chip development, even though Chinese processors still lag in training large scale AI models, making the H200 hard to replace,” wrote Hedgeye Risk Management analysts in a note to clients Wednesday.
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The Producer Price Index (PPI) for November, released Wednesday after a delay due to the US government shutdown last fall, showed prices for final goods and services purchased by businesses rose 0.2% during the month after edging up 0.1% in October. The uptick was as projected by economists tracked by Bloomberg.
The change was driven by a 0.9% increase in prices for final goods, or finished products — marking the largest jump since February 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase was fueled by prices for gasoline, which soared 10.5% during the month. Excluding food and energy, the prices of goods rose just 0.2%.
Year-over-year, the PPI showed wholesale inflation coming in at 3%, more than the 2.7% expected by economists. Excluding food, energy and trade services, prices for final demand goods and services rose 3.5% — the biggest climb since March 2025 and more than the 2.9% projected.
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A delayed release from the US Census Bureau on Wednesday showed retail and food services sales totaled $735.9 billion in November, up 3.3% from the year-ago period and 0.6% from the previous month. The month-over-month change was greater than the 0.5% uptick projected by economists tracked by Bloomberg.
The gain was driven by a resurgence in auto sales in November.
Meanwhile, total sales from September through November were also 3.6% higher than the previous year.
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Bloomberg reports:
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Bank of America (BAC) beat on fourth quarter earnings as net interest income came in above expectations.
Shares of the big Wall Street bank moved up in premarket after the results, which also showed a rise in equities trading revenue in a year marked by Trump-fueled uncertainty.
Bloomberg reports:
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Wells Fargo’s (WFC) profit fell short of Wall Street estimates for the fourth quarter, hit by severance costs amid a cost-cutting 5,600 reduction in headcount.
Shares of the big bank tipped over 1% lower in premarket, after net income also missed the mark.
Bloomberg reports:
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OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) has been leading the AI race for some time and was hoping to announce a deal with Apple (AAPL) last year, but the launch of Alphabet’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Gemini 3 and a new deal with the iPhone maker may have changed things.
Yahoo Finance’s Laura Bratton looks at how Google’s new deal with Apple may be a big loss for OpenAI.
Read more here.
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Infosys (INFY) stock climbed higher by 2% before the bell on Wednesday after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter revenue, helped by a pickup in tech demand from its financial services clients.
Reuters reports:
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Intel (INTC) stock rose 3% before the bell on Wednesday following its upgrade from Keybanc analysts on Tuesday.
Rivian (RIVN) shares fell 3% during premarket trading on Wednesday. The US automaker was downgraded by analysts at UBS to Sell from Neutral. UBS raised its price target for the electric vehicle company to $15 from $13.
Cybersecurity firms Palo Alto (PANW) and Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) both edged lower by 3% before the bell following a report in Reuters that Chinese authorities have told domestic companies to stop using cybersecurity software made by around a dozen firms from the US and Israel due to national security concerns.
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Bloomberg reports:
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Bloomberg reports:
Investors are ramping up bets on China’s stocks (^HSCE) and currency as 2026 kicks off, signaling a more decisive shift into the country’s assets at a time of rising global uncertainties.
Global investment firms from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) to Bernstein Societe Generale Group have lifted their assessment of the world’s second-largest equities market, citing compelling valuations, supportive industry policies and a rosy earnings outlook.
As Beijing allowed the yuan to breach the key 7-per-dollar level, market participants are also doubling down on the currency, with some predicting it to rise to as strong as 6.25 this year. Citigroup Inc. (C), BNP Paribas Asset Management and Bank of America Corp. (BAC) are among those favoring the yuan.
The louder bullish chorus has come as China staged a rare stock and currency twin rally last year, a virtuous cycle that may further restore confidence in the country’s assets. The surprise resilience in some parts of the world’s No. 2 economy, from booming exports to recovering factory activity and a stable banking system, also draws hope that laggards such as property and consumer stocks may deserve another look too.
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BP (BP, BP.L) stock slipped lower on Wall Street and in London after the energy giant said it expects to wipe up to $5 billion off the value of its green energy businesses.
The fourth-quarter writedowns come just weeks after BP replaced its CEO in a turnaround push, and bring its total writedowns in the past two years to around $20 billion.
Bloomberg reports:
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Bloomberg reports:
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Bloomberg reports:
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Bloomberg reports:
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