Investors continue to fret about higher Treasury yields and the Fed tightening monetary policy.
Summit Place Financial Advisors' Liz Miller:
"We've been up and down all day. This is clearly a market that's trying to figure out its direction. We had huge gains last year, but in fact they were very narrow gains."
Wednesday's weakness came even as companies reported positive earnings ....
... such as Morgan Stanley and Bank of America. Unlike most of their peers, they bucked the trend by reporting rising profits that beat expectations. The dealmaking boom boosted their bottom lines. Morgan Stanley rose 1.8%. BofA gained four-tenth percent, but other bank stocks ended lower.
Procter & Gamble was the Dow's top gainer, up over 3%. The consumer products maker raised its annual sales forecast. It's benefiting from higher prices and a resurgence in demand for cleaning products amid the spike in COVID-19 infections.
