NEW YORK (AP) โ U.S. stock indexes hover near record highs on Wednesday, continuing a streak of quiet trading that has already lasted several days.
The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in afternoon trading, a day after setting its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 30 points, or 0.1%, as of 12:36 p.m. ET. The Nasdaq composite was virtually unchanged and hovering around its latest record.
Target fell 7.4% after the retailer reported that its earnings for the latest quarter fell short of analysts' expectations. He also gave forecast ranges for upcoming earnings where the midpoints fell below analyst estimates, as he said customers are curbing their purchases of non-essential items. Earlier this week, Target said it was cutting prices on thousands of everyday staples to appeal to customers struggling with still-high inflation.
Lululemon Athletica sank 6.5% after it said its chief product officer, Sun Choe, will leave the company this month to "pursue another opportunity." The company announced a new organizational structure in which it will not replace the role of product director.
They helped offset a 22.2% jump for Petco Health & Wellness, which reported results and revenue for the latest quarter better than analysts feared.
TJX, the off-price clothing and home goods retailer, rose 6.3% after beating earnings expectations. The company behind TJ Maxx and Marshalls also raised its full-year earnings per share forecast, saying its prices are helping to attract customers.
The day's earnings report will be released after the close of trading for the day. That's when analysts expect Nvidia to post its latest successful quarter of growth thanks to growing demand for chips used in artificial intelligence technology.
Nvidia stock has become the third largest on Wall Street, making it one of the most influential stocks on the market. It will have to continue to deliver to keep the stock market frenzy around AI alive.
In the bond market, Treasury yields rose ahead of the afternoon release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting. Some recent reports showing weakening inflation and some parts of the U.S. economy have revived hopes that the Federal Reserve could cut its key interest rate at least once this year.
Fed officials have said in recent speeches that such reports have been encouraging, but they still need to see months more of improving data before they can lower the federal funds rate from its highest level in more than two decades. The Federal Reserve is trying to perform a tightrope walk in which it slows the economy through high interest rates enough to control inflation, but not so much that it causes a bad recession.
High rates have made everything from credit card bills to car loan payments more expensive. Mortgage rates are also high, and a report on Wednesday showed sales of previously occupied homes weakened more last month than economists expected.
Central banks around the world appear eager to cut interest rates, but โthey may not go very farโ given the performance of economies and how high inflation remains, according to Athanasios Vamvakidis, a strategist at Bank of America. He said in a BofA Global Research report that he only expects superficial interest rate cuts, which may also come later than financial markets seem to be forecasting.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.42% from 4.41% late Tuesday.
In foreign stock markets, indices fell modestly in much of Europe and Asia.
London's FTSE 100 sank 0.5% after the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics announced a higher-than-expected inflation reading that dented hopes for a rate cut in June. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% after Japan reported its trade deficit widened last month.
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AP writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.
