Dow closes nearly 200 points higher Wednesday as markets head into Thanksgiving: Live

Stocks are riding high on hopes the Federal Reserve is done with its tightening campaign. However, one market observer warned investors to keep an eye on earnings as the economy starts to show signs of slowing.

“At some point, you know, of course, a slowdown becomes a victim of its own success, so to speak,” Jack Ablin, investment chief at Cresset Capital, said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” The investor pointed to same-store sales growth that has matched inflation over the last 12 months.

“What that really means is there’s no volume growth and that all of the revenue increases that a lot of retailers and other companies have enjoyed over the last 12 months was simply pricing power,” Ablin added. “Well, if now prices roll over, and we see that downtrend, that could start to hurt earnings and profit margins.”

The investment chief recommended investors stick to high-quality growth companies with healthy, and growing, dividends. He favors names such as medical device maker Medtronic, water company Ecolab and pharmaceutical stock AbbVie.

— Sarah Min

Stocks were higher shortly into the final hour of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 158 points, or 0.46%. The S&P 500 rose 0.36%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.47%.

— Sarah Min

Energy stocks underperformed in the S&P 500 on Wednesday.

The sector slipped 0.4%, making it the worst performing of the 11 that comprise the broad index. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has climbed about 0.3%.

EOG Resources and Baker Hughes led the sector down with drops larger than 1% each. Occidental Petroleum and Halliburton were the next worst performers, with both shedding about 0.9%.

About two out of every three stocks in the energy sector traded lower. On the other hand, Valero Energy was the best performer in the sector, climbing 1.7% in the session.

— Alex Harring

ETF issuer GraniteShares filed Wednesday to tweak dozens of single stock ETFs, increasing the leverage in what is still a relatively new asset class in the United States.

Among the funds effected is the GraniteShares 1.5x Long NVDA Daily ETF (NVDL), which will soon have 2x leverage. The fund is up more than 400% year to date, and has about $270 million in assets under management, making it one of the more successful single-stock ETFs in the United States.

GraniteShares CEO Will Rhind told CNBC that the decision to increase the leverage comes after the company got more comfortable running the funds since single-stock ETFs were approved in the U.S. in 2022.

“In terms of being in the market now for over a year and understanding this a bit better, we think we can deliver on what customer feedback actually is with these,” Rhind said.

The filings say that the changes are expected to implemented in January, though GraniteShares could receive feedback from regulators in the meantime.

— Jesse Pound

U.S. crude prices declined Wednesday after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries delayed a key meeting on production cuts.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for January fell 67 cents, or .86%, to settle at $77.10 a barrel, while the Brent contract for January fell 49 cents, or .59%, to settle at $81.96 a barrel.

OPEC delayed the meeting of energy ministers until next Thursday. The organization didn’t provide a reason, but delegates told Bloomberg that Saudi Arabia and its allies are having trouble convincing Angola and Nigeria to accept lower output targets.

— Spencer Kimball

WTI Crude recovered some of its earlier losses Wednesday, falling $1.50 to $76.27 a barrel Wednesday afternoon.

Crude oil prices fell below $75 per barrel earlier on Wednesday after OPEC pushed back a meeting on production cuts that was scheduled for the weekend.

Boeing has rallied over the course of this shortened trading week, helped by a bullish analyst call and an announcement of certification testing clearance.

Shares were up about 6% on the week, making it the top performer of the 30 stocks in the Dow. By comparison, Verizon, the next biggest gainer, has added under 3% this week. The Dow as a whole is up about 1% in the same time period.

Boeing’s rally first began on the heels of a Deutsche Bank upgrade to buy from hold on Monday. Deutsche said improving free cash flow should help the company’s shares.

Shares took another leg up on Wednesday after regulators cleared the company to start flight testing for 737 MAX 10 certification.

— Alex Harring

Check out some of the companies making headlines in midday trading.

Clorox — The consumer product company advanced less than 1% on the heels of an upgrade to neutral from underweight by JPMorgan. The firm said there is upside potential to consensus expectations with the worst likely behind the company.

Safety Shot — Shares plummeted more than 30% following a report from Capybara Research questioned the efficacy and legitimacy of the company’s alcohol detox drink.

Deere, Caterpillar — Deere shares dropped nearly 4% after the agricultural equipment maker issued disappointing guidance for fiscal 2024. Deere said it expects net income between $7.75 billion and $8.25 billion, short of the $9.31 billion expected from analysts polled by StreetAccount. Peer company Caterpillar ticked down 1.5%.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

The communication services sector was the S&P 500’s top outperforming sector Wednesday, rising 0.9%. The technology, consumer staples and consumer discretionary sectors were the following top-gaining sectors, adding around 0.5%.

In the communications services sector, News Corp and Match Group added 2.2% and 1.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices led the tech sector’s gains, up 3.3%.

— Hakyung Kim

Just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, 41 S&P 500 stocks hit 52-week highs during Wednesday’s trading session.

Meanwhile, one component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a 52-week low. Chevron traded at lows not seen since September, 2022.

Of those the S&P names, 26 hit all-time highs, including:

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in Jan, 2006CBOE Holdings (CBOE), trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in June, 2010‎Loews (L), trading at all-time highs back through our history to 1972Cardinal Health (CAH), trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in 1983Cintas (CTAS), trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in 1983Ingersoll-Rand (IR), trading at all-time high levels back through our history to 1972Amphenol (APH), trading at all-time high levels since its IPO in 1991Microsoft (MSFT), trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in March, 1986Roper (ROP), trading at levels not seen since its IPO in 1992

— ‎‏Christopher Hayes, Michelle Fox

 The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index rose slightly last month, indicating that consumers remain positive despite a slowdown, according to Commonwealth Financial Network.

“Overall, this survey indicates that the consumer, while still watchful, is nowhere close to panic mode, and should keep spending through the holiday season,” said chief investment officer Brad McMillan.

“Despite that, though, the inflation expectations are still under control.  This report is still squarely in the sweet spot for continued growth into early next year,” he added.

— Hakyung Kim

Several analysts hiked their price targets on Nvidia following the chipmaker’s latest quarterly financial statement.

While many analysts already have buy-equivalent ratings, many upped their target prices after the report to signal that they believe the stock has more upside ahead. Some analysts see shares climbing as high as $700 — meaning the stock could rally around 40%.

CNBC Pro subscribers can click here to read more about who raised their price targets and why they are bullish.

— Alex Harring

Shoppers have already spent $63.2 billion online in the first 20 days of November, according to Adobe Analytics. That’s up 5% from the same period last year. Carts are being loaded up with Roblox toys, Squishmallows, Barbie dolls and Legos, according to Adobe. It said other hot sellers include traditional favorites such as Nintendo’s Switch and Sony’s PlayStation 5, pajamas, holiday decor, headphones and sweaters.

Retailers started their discounting very early in the season, and that appears to have reeled inflation-weary shoppers in, but Adobe expects bigger price drops in the days ahead. The firm is projecting online sales will rise 4.8% year over year during the November-December time period. But it’s expecting an even bigger year-over-year gain from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, with a forecast for a 5.4% increase to $37.2 billion in sales. Those five days will likely make up nearly 17% of the season’s total purchases, they said.

—Christina Cheddar Berk

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index came in at 61.3 for November, eking out a Dow Jones forecast of 60.6. To be sure, that’s still below an October reading of 63.8.

“While this marks the fourth consecutive month of declines, November’s reading reflects a balance of factors, some of which improved while others worsened,” Surveys of Consumers director Joanne Hsu wrote.

“More-favorable current assessments and expectations of personal finances were offset by a notable deterioration in expected business conditions,” Hsu added. “In particular, long-run business conditions plunged by 15% to its lowest since July 2022. Younger and middle-aged consumers exhibited strong declines in economic attitudes this month, while sentiment of those age 55 and older improved from October.”

— Fred Imbert

U.S. crude fell more than 4% after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries delayed a meeting on production cuts scheduled for this weekend.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for January fell $3.47, or 4.46%, to $74.31 a barrel, while the Brent contract for January fell $3.57, or 4.33%, to $78.88 a barrel.

OPEC has delayed the meeting of energy ministers until next Thursday amid difficult discussions over production levels. Traders were anticipating the possibility of further production cuts this weekend.

Israel and Hamas also agreed to four-day ceasefire to facilitate the release of hostages held in Gaza. Oil spiked in October on fears the war would spread, but traders increasingly view a regional conflict as unlikely.

The S&P 500 energy sector fell 1.37% in the wake of the news. The sector is down nearly 6% for the year.

— Spencer Kimball

U.S. stocks opened higher Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 116 points, or 0.3%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained about 1% and 1.2%, respectively.

— Hakyung Kim

LME Nickel declined to a low of $16,580 per metric tonne, the lowest level since Apr. 26, 2021 when nickel traded as low as $16,315.

This comes as the contract continues to struggle with liquidity and supply, as well as the aftermath of the significant short squeeze in Mar. 2022.

— Hakyung Kim, Gina Francolla

Initial jobless claims for the week ended Nov. 18 came in at 209,000, down 24,000 from the previous week. That print is also 20,000 less than a consensus estimate from Dow Jones.

The data serves as another indication that the U.S. economy is resilient despite higher interest rates.

— Fred Imbert