Stock Market Today: Stocks Finish Mixed Ahead of Fed

On Sep 21, 2021

Stocks were on track to stage a modest bounce in the wake of Monday’s drubbing as bargain hunters swooped in to buy the dip.

A solid reading on August housing starts and building permits – which rose at higher-than-expected sequential rates of 3.9% and 6%, respectively – only lifted the collective mood on Wall Street for most of the day.

The Nasdaq Composite held onto its gains through session’s end, adding 0.2% to 14,746. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.2% to 33,919) and S&P 500 Index (-0.1% to 4,354) weren’t so resilient, slipping into negative territory by the close.

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In focus tomorrow: the Fed’s latest policy announcement.

Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO and chief strategist of Dallas-based Quill Intelligence, isn’t expecting a taper announcement just yet considering there are several “unresolved issues” in Washington D.C. at the moment. “Between the debt ceiling, budget resolution and potential for a government shutdown, there are plenty of political reasons for the Fed to not change policy,” she says.

Other news in the stock market today:

The small-cap Russell 2000 added 0.2% to 2,186.
Walt Disney (DIS) was the worst Dow stock today, shedding 4.2%. This came after the entertainment giant’s CEO Bob Chapek warned of slowing Disney+ subscriber growth in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ends on Sept. 30. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference, Chapek said he sees paid subscribers growing in the “low single-digit millions.” For the sake of comparison, DIS added 12.4 million net new Disney+ subscribers in its fiscal third quarter.
Uber Technologies (UBER, +11.5%) was a notable gainer after the ride-hailing firm boosted its third-quarter guidance. For the three-month period, UBER now expects gross bookings to land between $22.8 billion and $23.2 billion – up from its prior forecast of $22 billion to $24 billion. Additionally, adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is projected to range from a $25 million loss to a $25 million profit. The previous estimate was for Q3 adjusted EBITDA to arrive somewhere ahead of a $100 million loss. CFRA analyst Angelo Zino maintained his Strong Buy rating on the stock after the update, noting “this partly reflects an improving supply driver network, which will allow UBER to taper investments.”
U.S. crude oil futures rose 0.4% to settle at $70.56 per barrel.
Gold futures gained 0.8% to finish at $1,778.20 an ounce.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 5.3% to 24.36.
Bitcoin retreated 4.1% to $42,014.08. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.)

“Stay Calm and Carry On”

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