NEW YORK, Feb 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks wavered between slight gains and losses on Wednesday as investors parsed the minutes from the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting and digested the latest tariff announcements from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The S&P 500 inched higher, on course for a second consecutive record closing high, while the Nasdaq was essentially flat and the blue-chip Dow moved modestly lower.
"The market continues to work its way higher, so 'resiliency' is the watchword that I would give to the market right now," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of CFRA Research in New York. "In the face of high valuations, reduced Q1 earnings estimates as well as the uncertainty surrounding global trade, the market is still leaning toward the positive side."
At the Fed's January policy meeting, the U.S. central bank left its key interest rate unchanged. The minutes show policymakers expressed concern about stubborn inflation and the potential effect of Trump's policy proposals, particularly tariffs, on their efforts to bring price growth down to their target.
"Fed is going to continue to be data-dependent and they're in no hurry to cut interest rates," Stovall added. "(There's) really nothing new, but at the same time, nothing unexpectedly negative."
Trump announced on Tuesday he would impose tariffs "in the neighborhood of 25%" on autos, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, the latest in a series of measures that have raised concerns over the consequences of a global trade war.
The Commerce Department said housing starts tumbled by 9.8% in January, a plunge attributed to soft demand, elevated mortgage rates and a spate of unusually frigid weather.
Housing stocks (.HGX), were underperformers, dropping 2.1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), fell 134.61 points, or 0.30%, to 44,421.73, the S&P 500 (.SPX), gained 3.48 points, or 0.06%, at 6,133.06 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), edged up 5.51 points, or 0.03%, to 20,046.77.
Traders work on the floor of the NYSE in New York
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., February 12, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, healthcare (.SPXHC), was enjoying the largest percentage gain, while materials (.SPLRCM), were showing the biggest percentage dip.
Fourth-quarter earnings season is approaching the finish line, and 74% of the S&P 500 constituents that have reported posted better-than-expected results, according to LSEG.
Analysts now see fourth-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 15.3% year-on-year, a significant improvement over the 9.6% estimate at the beginning of the year, according to LSEG.
Electric truck maker Nikola (NKLA.O), plunged 37.7% in the wake of its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Specialty chemicals company Celanese (CE.N), tumbled 23.2% after reporting a quarterly loss.
Shares of Shift4 (FOUR.N), slid 16.7% following its fourth-quarter results and on news that the payments processor has agreed to buy Global Blue (GB.N), in a deal valued at $2.5 billion.
Shares of Global Blue jumped 17.5%.
Analog Devices (ADI.O), gained 9.3% after beating quarterly profit and revenue estimates.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.66-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 150 new highs and 82 new lows on the NYSE.
On the Nasdaq, 1,789 stocks rose and 2,528 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.41-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and six new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 76 new highs and 112 new lows.
Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang
