Stocks closed mixed Wednesday as disappointing earnings from Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL, -9.1%) and Dow component Microsoft (MSFT, -7.7%) weighed on the major market benchmarks and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite in particular.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.01% at 31,840, while the broader S&P 500 closed off 0.7% at 3,830. The Nasdaq, under pressure not only from GOOGL and MSFT but also Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META, -5.6%) and Amazon.com (AMZN, -4.1%), slumped 2.0% to settle at 10,970.
Markets had been grinding higher since mid-October on an encouraging third-quarter earnings season, but that came to a halt when MSFT and GOOGL reported results after Tuesday's closing bell. The cloud-computing giant and search king both missed Wall Street's estimates, hurt by a strong U.S. dollar, decelerating advertising spending and other recessionary pressures. Fear that these same headwinds will derail results from companies yet to report reignited concerns that we could be in the midst of the worst earnings season since the height of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
The Best Defensive ETFs to Protect Your Portfolio
Wednesday's mixed market action once again demonstrated the importance of defense and diversification. Tech got hammered Wednesday but the Dow held up comparatively well. Indeed, outside of energy – and some select oil and gas stocks in particular – every sector of the market is down for the year-to-date. However, within sectors, investors who are overweight dividend stocks – especially the top-rated dividend stocks in the Dow – are likely beating the broader market this year. Highly rated consumer staples stocks, which are also known for defense, have been another port in the bear market storm.
Investors can take a do-it-yourself approach to overweighting defensive stocks in their portfolios, or they can go the cheap and easy route of embracing exchange-traded funds to do it for them. Whether we're talking about low-volatility ETFs, defensive dividend ETFs or even ETFs that benefit from a strong dollar, every one of these products has diversification built into it from the ground up. Check out these top defensive ETFs to protect your portfolio during these volatile times.
-
Stock Market Today: Markets Turn Lower on Nasty Inflation SurpriseEquities sold off after a hot reading on consumer price inflation pushed back rate cuts to autumn or year-end.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Swing Lower as Inflation Fears RiseThe latest consumer sentiment data showed near-term inflation expectations rose to their highest level since November 2023.
-
Stock Market Today: Investors Respond to the Usual UncertaintyStocks surged late but the major indexes closed mixed as the search for market leadership continues.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Waver as Big Tech Slumps on Spending ConcernsMarkets seesawed amid worries over massive costs for artificial intelligence and mixed economic news.
-
The Two Reasons Alphabet Stock Is Sinking After EarningsAlphabet reported an earnings beat and strong cloud growth, but the Google stock is spiraling Wednesday. Here's why.
-
The Best Communication Services Stocks to BuyCommunication services stocks represent a diverse segment of the market that includes media companies, internet giants and telecoms. Here's how to find the best ones.
-
The DeepSeek Crash: What It Means for AI InvestorsDeepSeek's R1 model represents both risk and opportunity. Here's what DeepSeek means for AI investors.
-
How Do Tariffs Impact the Stock Market?There are plenty of moving parts when it comes to tariffs. Here, we look at what impact tariffs have on the stock market and your portfolio.
