- US stocks fell on Wednesday, on track to snap a four-day win streak as investors become skeptical of Russia's peace talks with Ukraine.
- Russia said it has yet to see any breakthrough in its talks with Ukraine, and that a lot of work still remains.
- Commodity prices rebounded on Wednesday, adding to ongoing concerns of persistent inflation.
US stocks edged lower on Wednesday, on track to potentially snap a four-day win streak after Russia said it has yet to see any real breakthrough in its ongoing peace talks with Ukraine.
Stocks had surged on Tuesday after Russia said it would pull back its troops from Kyiv and seek to continue talks with Ukraine, but some believe the move by Russia is simply a strategy to concentrate its military focus on eastern regions from Ukraine.
"As nice as the peace talks initially sound, there's skepticism over Russia's true intentions," Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index, said. "They haven't been true to their word with humanitarian corridors, and it's possible their pledge to scale down their 'military operations' around Kyiv is simply a ploy to disperse their troops elsewhere."
Ongoing talks between the two countries should continue to send shockwaves across the
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 4,617.28, down 0.3%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,247.02, down 0.13% (47.17 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 14,543.33, down 0.51%
Investors are also keenly focused on the move in interest rates, as the 10-year and 2-year treasury yield curve briefly inverted on Tuesday before turning positive. An inversion means that short-term interest rates are higher than longer-term interest rates, and it has been a reliable indicator that the economy is on the verge of a recession.
The week-long rally in stocks has helped revitalize meme-stocks like AMC Entertainment and GameStop, with both doubling over the past two weeks. But billionaire bond king Bill Gross likened meme-stocks to lottery tickets and said there's no real value behind them.
Alibaba is gaining exposure to the metaverse via a $60 million funding round into AR glasses maker Nreal. The Chinese e-commerce giant has already registered several trademarks, including Ali Metaverse.
Uber said the ride-hailing company is not yet ready to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment for its services, as they still need to become more efficient. "It's demonstrated to be a real store of value, but it has not yet demonstrated its utility in terms of efficient exchange of value," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose as much as much as 3.56% to $107.95 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, jumped as much as 3.39% to $113.97.
Bitcoin fell 0.71% to $47,134. Ether prices rose 0.12% to $3,389.
Gold rose as much as 0.78% to $1,927.20 per ounce. The yield on the 10-year Treasury added three basis points to 2.43%.