By Victor Reklaitis and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Goldman analysts: It has been a period of 'indigestion'
NEW YORK (MarketWatch)--U.S. stocks stepped higher Wednesday,
recovering a little lost ground one day after a dollar surge and
growing expectations of a rate hike helped trigger the Dow's
biggest point drop in five months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 54 points, or 0.3%,
around midday, with a bit more than half of its 30 components
trading higher. The S&P 500 (SPX) inched higher by 0.2%, with
six of its 10 main sectors trading in the green. The Nasdaq
Composite (RIXF) was marginally up about 0.1%.
Tuesday's steep losses
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-futures-drop-as-dollar-surges-apple-in-focus-2015-03-10)
erased year-to-date gains for the S&P 500 and the Dow
industrials. The two indexes are still negative for the year, while
the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up.
Some analysts have suggested the market should be calming.
Goldman Sachs analysts Noah Weisberger and Aleksandar Timcenko
have said "winds have shifted with a looming U.S. tightening as the
current source of market disquiet." But they think the tightening
"will ultimately prove benign, though perhaps after some period of
'indigestion,'" the analysts said in a note Tuesday.
"The reality is that the market will never be fully ready for
[a] hike in the interest rate," said Naeem Aslam, chief market
analyst at AvaTrade, in a note Wednesday. Investors are used to
"cheap money," and they "are not going to be happy if you pull that
plug," so Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen "will just have
to be strong armed and pull the plug," he said.
Wednesday's modestly positive stock action came even as the
dollar continued to push higher against rivals, with the euro
(EURUSD) trading around a nearly 12-year low.
Read more: The blistering pace of the dollar's rally is rattling
markets
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-blistering-pace-of-dollars-rally-is-rattling-markets-2015-03-10)
Individual movers & shakers:SanDisk Corp.(SNDK) was one of
the S&P 500's biggest gainers, boosted by Goldman Sachs
analysts adding the stock to their so-called conviction buy
list.
Avon Products Inc.(AVP) was among the S&P's largest
decliners as investors fretted that a strong dollar will hurt the
company, which gets about 85% of its sales from overseas.
Read more about Wednesday's jumpiest stocks in Movers &
Shakers ()
Other markets: Gold (GCJ5) fell further
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-bounces-back-from-november-lows-2015-03-11)
as the dollar (DXY)charged ahead
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-up-after-losing-a-chunk-of-gains-overnight-2015-03-11).
Oil prices
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-futures-rebound-ahead-of-us-oil-stockpile-data-2015-03-11)(CLJ5)
also dropped.
European stocks climbed
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-rally-as-weaker-euro-fuels-exporters-2015-03-11),
aided by the falling euro as the European Central Bank's
bond-buying program continued. In Asia, Hong Kong equities dropped
to a two-month low
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hong-kong-stocks-fall-to-two-month-low-on-weak-china-data-2015-03-11)
after more signs of weakness in the Chinese economy, though
Japanese stocks rebounded.
MarketWatch's Anora Mahmudova in New York contributed to this
article.
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