Stocks Edge Higher, Bitcoin Holds Steady Awaiting SEC's Decision: What's Driving Markets Wednesday?

Wednesday sees a session of modest gains on Wall Street, with all major large-cap stock indices in the green. Market attention is focused on the long-awaited decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the approval of the Bitcoin ETF, expected today.

The price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) remains stable around $46,250 at 01:00 in New York, recovering from losses incurred following a false tweet posted Tuesday on the SEC’s Twitter account, which was later declared compromised due to a hacker attack.

Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, is up by 4.2%. Investors may view it as the next potential candidate if a Bitcoin ETF receives approval.

Treasury yields are holding steady, while the U.S. dollar is slightly down. Meanwhile, gold continues to lose ground, declining by 0.3% to $2,024 per ounce.

Market participants and Fed watchers prefer to have more clarity on potential moves by the Federal Reserve and eagerly await the December inflation report set to be released on Thursday at 8:30 AM.

Wednesday’s Performance In US Major Indices, ETFs

Major Indices & ETFsPrice%
Nasdaq 10016,770.270.5%
S&P 5004,775.120.4%
Dow Jones37,601.940.2%
Russell 20001963.78-0.1%

On an industry level, homebuilders, as tracked by the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (NYSE:ITB), gained 1.4%. Stocks in the oil and gas downstream industries continued to underperform, with the VanEck Oil Services ETF (NYSE:OIH) down 2%.

Wednesday's Stock Movers

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