Dow rises 200 points as as traders assess state of postelection rally, new inflation data: Live updates

Traders work on the New York Stock Exchange floor on November 12, 2024 in New York City.

Source: NYSE

Bank stocks outperformed on Wednesday, continuing to climb on the back of last week's presidential election results.

Exchange-traded funds from State Street tracking regional banks (the KRE) and the banking sector more broadly (the KBE) each rose roughly 1%. By comparison, the S&P 500 ticked higher by 0.3%.

Bank ETFs, 1-day

Bank stocks have largely surged since Donald Trump emerged victorious in the race for the White House, with investors viewing the Republican's expected posture toward deregulation as beneficial for the group. To be sure, it hasn't been a straight shot up, with both ETFs posting declines in Tuesday's session.

The regional bank ETF has climbed more than 14% in November alone, while broader bank fund has jumped more than 12%. Both are tracking for their best months since July.

— Alex Harring

Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan urged caution on policy in a speech Wednesday in an environment where the longer-term interest rate trajectory could be higher than normal.

Logan said she generally sees inflation heading lower and the labor market easing but stable. Yet she said there are risks to the Fed's policymaking "voyage" that need to be considered, in which inflation could hold above the Fed's 2% target.

"I anticipate the [Federal Open Market Committee] will most likely need more rate cuts to finish the journey. But it's difficult to be sure how many cuts may be needed and how soon they may need to happen," she said during an appearance in her home district.

If the Fed cuts rates past the "neutral" level that neither boosts nor restricts growth, "inflation could reaccelerate and the FOMC could need to reverse direction. In these uncertain but potentially very shallow waters, I believe it's best to proceed with caution," said Logan who will not have a vote on the FOMC until 2026.

—Jeff Cox

The dollar index rose 0.4% Wednesday to 106.50, its strongest level since April 16, when it reached 106.517.

Meanwhile, the euro fell 0.6% against the dollar to 1.0569. This market the euro's lowest point against the greenback since Nov. 2, 2023, when it traded as low as 1.0564.

— Hakyung Kim

Small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 jumped nearly 1% Wednesday, resuming its postelection rally after a pause in the previous session.

Small companies, which are more domestic-oriented and cyclical, are seen as beneficiaries from President-elect Donald Trump's tax cuts and protectionist policies.

The index rallied 8.6% last week and it fell 1.8% Tuesday after a number of strong days.

Russell 2000

Bitcoin year to date

Stocks were roughly flat shortly after the opening bell on Wednesday, as investors weighed fresh inflation data and how much cardio the postelection rally has left.

The S&P 500 ticked up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.09%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 22 points, or 0.09%.

— Brian Evans

Consumer prices rose slightly in October, though the increase was in line with expectations.

The consumer price index gained 0.2% month over month and 2.6% from the year-earlier period, as expected. Excluding food and energy, CPI rose 0.3% month over month, also matching Dow Jones estimates.

— Fred Imbert

Apple could see gains next year in the aftermath of last month's release of Apple Intelligence, according to Evercore ISI.

Analyst Amit Daryanani named Apple as one of its top five ideas for 2025, saying that the impact of AI on iPhone sales could spell long-term upside. Notably, the analyst said it could reach a stock price of $300.

"We continue to think this will be a long-tailed upgrade cycle with iPhone growth improving as more AI features are added and strength will likely sustain into the iPhone 17 cycle," he told clients in a Wednesday note.

"Beyond AI, we continue to expect solid growth out of Services (low teens) and Wearables (HSD) in FY25 along with continued strength in margins," Daryanani continued. "This growth coupled with steadily accelerating iPhone y/y growth should enable Apple stock to work higher as we go through 2025."

While shares have fallen more than 1% in the past one month, they've risen more than 16% this year.

— Sean Conlon

Starbucks may be facing some pullback from here, according to Redburn Atlantic.

Shares slumped more than 1% in the premarket after analyst Edward Lewis downgraded shares of the coffeehouse chain to sell. His updated price target implies around 22% downside from Tuesday's close.

While the analyst believes CEO Brian Niccol's "Back to Starbucks" plan will spur growth, he still sees challenges ahead in its path to recovery. This also comes after the company posted disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter results.

"There is merit in the plan and we do model a return to positive comps in FY25," he said in a Wednesday note. "However, as has been the case at Starbucks of late, the recovery will come at a cost not adequately reflected in consensus, in our view."

Shares have risen about 3% this year and more than 3% in the past one month.

— Sean Conlon

European stocks traded around the flatline Wednesday, with global markets focused on upcoming U.S. inflation data.

Shares of Just Eat Takeaway stock soared 20% shortly after the open Wednesday after the company said it had struck a deal to sell its U.S. unit Grubhub to Wonder for $650 million. Siemens Energy was also a best performer on the index, its shares rocketing 19.1% Wednesday morning after the German energy company upgraded its mid-term financial targets.

Shares of ABN Amro traded 1% lower after the Dutch lender posted a 9% fall in quarterly net profit, compared to a year earlier. Shares of Allianz were up 1.1% after the financial services group beat expectations with a 22% rise in third-quarter net profit.

Read the European markets blog here

— Holly Ellyatt

Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading.

Spotify Technology – Shares of the music-streaming service jumped about 8%. Total monthly active users for the third quarter came in at 640 million, reflecting an 11% jump from a year earlier and beating FactSet consensus estimates of 639.0 million. Still, Spotify fell short of the Street's expectations on the top and bottom lines in the period.

Skyworks Solutions — The semiconductor company slipped nearly 2% after posting an earnings beat in the fiscal fourth quarter. Skyworks reported adjusted earnings of $1.55 per share, while analysts polled by LSEG had forecast $1.52 per share. Revenues of $1.02 billion came in line with estimates. Meanwhile, the company's forward guidance for the first quarter came in lighter than expectations. 

Cava — The fast-casual chain popped 14% after reporting a top- and bottom-line beat in the third quarter. Cava announced earnings of 15 cents per share on revenues of $244 million. Meanwhile, analysts had forecast earnings of 11 cents per share and $234 million in revenues, per LSEG. 

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday night.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell just 16 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures ticked down 0.05% and 0.09%, respectively.

— Hakyung Kim

Correction: An earlier version of this blog post misstated the day of the week.