Stocks Falter, Metals Fall As Traders Turn Cautious Ahead Of Fed Minutes, Nvidia Earnings; First Solar Hits Record Highs: What’s Driving Markets Wednesday?

Wall Street experienced a muted session on Wednesday morning as traders adopted a cautious stance ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting minutes release at 2 p.m. EDT and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) earnings announcement after the market close.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gained 0.2%, slightly outperforming other major indices, with the S&P 500 and the Dow both in negative territory by midday in New York.

Small caps, tracked by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM), fell by 0.4%.

Significant gains were observed in solar and clean energy industries. The Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE:PBW) jumped 5%. These gains were likely driven by newly announced trade tariff modifications on solar manufacturing equipment by the United States Trade Representative.

Notably, First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) soared 16% to fresh all-time highs, on track for its top-performing session gains in over a year.

Treasury yields remained steady, while the U.S. dollar index (DXY) strengthened by 0.2%. Traders are currently pricing in a 42-basis-point reduction in Federal Reserve rates by year-end.

In the commodities markets, metals saw significant declines, with gold, silver and copper falling 1.2%, 2% and 4.9%, respectively, with copper particularly affected by reports of abundant inventories in China.

Natural gas prices rallied over 4%, while oil prices eased by 0.6%. In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) remained flat at $70,400.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:QQQ) was up 0.1% to $456.34, according to Benzinga Pro data. 

Among sectors, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) lagged behind, dropping 1.8%, likely impacted by news of the Biden administration directing the Department of Energy to release 1 million barrels of gasoline from strategic reserves.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• Other than First Solar, solar stocks rallying on Wednesday included Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MAXN) up 27%.
• Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) fell 3%, after the EV maker reported a decline in annual sales in Europe.
• TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE:TJX) rose 6% in reaction to quarterly earnings.
• Other companies reacting to earnings were Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) down 15%.
• Companies slated to report their earnings after the close include Nvidia Corp, Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBB).

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