Wall Street capped a choppy day with a mixed finish Wednesday as a late-afternoon pullback among several Big Tech companies offset gains elsewhere in the market.
The S&P 500 closed 0.1% lower after earlier being up by 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5% before finishing with a 0.1% gain. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%.
Facebook parent company Meta fell 2%, Google’s parent company Alphabet gave up 1.6% and Microsoft dropped 1%.
Still, gainers outnumbered decliners by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio on the New York Stock Exchange.
Automakers were a bright spot. General Motors surged 9.4% after announcing a big stock buyback, raising its dividend and telling investors it won’t have trouble absorbing the costs of its new labor contract. The stock is still down 6.1% for the year, while the S&P 500 is up more than 18%.
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GM Maintains 2023 Guidance, Announces Stock Buyback
GM and its rivals agreed to new contracts with the United Auto Workers and Canadian auto workers in October following strikes.
Ford rose 2.1% and Jeep maker Stellantis rose 5.3%.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 4.31 points to 4,550.58, the Dow rose 13.44 points to 35,430.42, and the Nasdaq dropped 23.27 points to 14,258.49.
Stocks rose in Europe and were mixed in Asia.
Treasury yields fell, taking more pressure off of stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, slipped to 4.26% from 4.33%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury fell sharply to 4.66% from 4.75%.
Trader Sal Suarino works Nov. 1 on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Wall Street received another encouraging economic update Wednesday. The U.S. economy grew at a brisk 5.2% annual pace from July through September, the government reported, an upgrade from its previous estimate of 4.9%.
Consumer spending, the lifeblood of the economy, rose at a 3.6% annual rate from July through September. That’s still healthy, but a downgrade from the previous estimate of 4%.
Wall Street will be watching retailers during the holiday shopping season. A record 200.4 million consumers shopped online and in stores over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, according to the National Retail Federation.
Several stocks rallied Wednesday after strong financial updates. NetApp jumped 14.6%. TurboTax maker Intuit rose 2.2% and software maker Workday gained 11%.
Sneaker and athletic apparel retailer Foot Locker rose 16.1%. Nike rose 1.5% and Lululemon Athletica rose 2.5%.
On the losing end, Spam maker Hormel foods fell 4.6% after giving a weak profit forecast.
Las Vegas Sands slid 4.9% after Miriam Adelson, the casino operator’s controlling shareholder, sold some $2 billion in stock ahead of an announcement Wednesday that Adelson’s family agreed to buy a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks NBA franchise, owned by Mark Cuban.
Metros with the highest share of business travelers and their top destinations
#15. Ann Arbor, Michigan
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.0% (708,930 trips)
– Top destination: Raleigh, North Carolina (166,155 trips)
Ann Arbor is home to the University of Michigan, renowned for its research programs. The institution is the top employer in the city, followed by its accompanying health care system. Thus, it is no surprise that Raleigh, one-third of North Carolina’s Research Triangle, is the top destination for Ann Arbor workers.
#14. Albuquerque, New Mexico
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.1% (2,124,090 trips)
– Top destination: Chicago (922,579 trips)
The largest city in New Mexico is home to a variety of diverse industries, including agriculture in the Rio Grande River valley and military research and development at the Kirtland Air Force Base. The city is also home to New Mexico’s primary international airport, the Albuquerque International Sunport, which operates an average of 415 daily takeoffs and landings.
#13. Cape Coral, Florida
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.1% (1,927,728 trips)
– Top destination: Chicago (174,559 trips)
Cape Coral is a southwestern city in Florida near the Gulf of Mexico, making the tourism industry a popular employment choice. The top employer, however, is Lee Memorial Health System, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the state.
#12. Kauai County, Hawaii
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.1% (248,506 trips)
– Top destination: Hawaii County, Hawaii (148,207 trips)
Kauai County is home to a thriving tourism industry. The top four employers in the city are hotels and resorts, led by the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa. Located 305 miles away, Hawaii County hosts an annual tourism conference that draws industry professionals from inside and outside the state.
#11. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.2% (1,518,998 trips)
– Top destination: New York, New York (77,495 trips)
Many of the top employers in Myrtle Beach revolve around tourism, as the beach city attracts nearly 19 million visitors a year. However, the city is also home to an emerging aerospace workforce—an industry that has grown exponentially in the past decade—and hosts the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics training location.
#10. Orlando, Florida
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.2% (7,686,644 trips)
– Top destination: Atlanta (1,101,956 trips)
Home to Disneyland and Universal Studios, Orlando has a heavily tourism-dependent economy and workforce. The city’s top employer, Walt Disney World Resort, employs over 58,000 residents. The top destination for business trips of Orlando workers is Atlanta, home to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the busiest airport in the world.
#9. Panama City, Florida
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.2% (693,145 trips)
– Top destination: Atlanta (129,748 trips)
The economy in Panama City, Florida, is largely driven by the military—the top two employers in the city are the Tyndall Air Force Base as well as Naval Support Activity Panama City. The top destination for business travelers, Atlanta, is within a two-hour flight of 80% of the United States’ population.
#8. Crestview, Florida
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.2% (960,107 trips)
– Top destination: Dallas (79,798 trips)
Crestview in Okaloosa County is home to a large military presence, attracting related industries such as defense contractors and research and development. The city is just north of the largest U.S. Air Force facility in the world, Eglin Air Force Base.
#6. Salt Lake City
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.3% (3,902,861 trips)
– Top destination: Chicago (384,788 trips)
Salt Lake City is home to the University of Utah, the city’s top employer with over 20,000 workers. The state’s economy, overall, is one of the most diverse in the country, according to the Hachman Index of Economic Diversity.
#5. Mobile, Alabama
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.3% (1,495,069 trips)
– Top destination: Chicago (822,025 trips)
Mobile, Alabama, features a thriving trade-based economy thanks to its designation as Alabama’s only seaport. The city is also home to the first of only two U.S.-based Airbus manufacturing plants.
#4. Denver
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.3% (8,779,905 trips)
– Top destination: Chicago (553,969 trips)
Denver is driven by a diverse workforce comprised of professionals in emerging fields such as fintech, bioscience, and energy. The city is experiencing rapid startup growth and is ranked 12th in the country for its startup ecosystem, according to Startup Genome.
#2. Carbondale, Illinois
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.6% (516,989 trips)
– Top destination: Chicago (451,258 trips)
Southern Illinois University and its accompanying medical system employ the most local residents by far, providing jobs to over 10,000 people. Business travelers tend to gravitate toward Chicago, home to the McCormick Place convention center, one of the largest in the country, and a go-to spot for large conferences and trade shows.
#1. Ketchikan, Alaska
– Share of business trips over 300 miles: 1.7% (55,461 trips)
– Top destination: Seattle (32,290 trips)
Driven largely by the state’s natural resources and wildlife, Ketchikan’s economy serves as a transportation hub and the main source for local fishing canneries. The small city is home to the Ketchikan International Airport, which jets passengers to cities around Alaska and over to Seattle, the most popular destination for the city’s business travelers.
Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Curtis Yee. Photo selection by Ania Antecka.
This story originally appeared on TravelPerk and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
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