Stocks were mixed on Wednesday, with technology holding up better than the premarket predicted, despite a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. government is considering semiconductor export limits to China.

The Fed is due to release the results of its annual stress tests for banks at 4:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

Highlights from Wednesday’s Trading:

The S&P 500 was slightly up (0.1%) as of midday trading, while the Dow slipped 0.2%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 posted a 0.6% uptick, while small caps in the Russell 2000 gained 0.3%

U.S. Indices’ Performance on Tuesday

Analyst Color:

An analyst is optimistic about the near-term market outlook, as he fell back on history to highlight the positivity. When the S&P 500 is up more than 10% for the year-to-date period at the end of June, the performance during the next six months is much better than the average, said Carson Group analyst Ryan Detrick.

“But If the year before was negative [like now], things are even better,” he said, adding that the median gain for the next six months was 12.4% and the index was higher 89% of the time.

"We remain OW equities and would buy weakness," Detrick said.

Wednesday’s Trading In Major US Equity ETFs

Performances among sectors were mixed for the session, with the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) both rising 0.7%.

The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) and the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) were the laggards, down 1.3% and 0.8%, respectively.

Latest Economic Data:

Mortgage applications in the US rose 3% in the week ended June 23, a third consecutive week of increases, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association data showed.

U.S. crude oil stocks tumbled by 9.603 million barrels in the week ending June 23, substantially more than market expectations of a 1.757-million draw, data from the EIA Petroleum Status Report showed.

The Fed is due to release the results of its bank stress results at 4:30 a.m. EDT. Despite the challenging nature of the tests, analysts and executives anticipate the 23 banks being tested will show capital levels above regulatory requirements, reports say.

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Stocks In Focus:

Commodities, Bonds, Other Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil rose 1.6%, with a barrel of WTI-grade crude trading at $69.20. The United States Oil Fund ETF (NYSE:USO) was 1.9% higher to $62.40.

Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year yield down by 4 basis points to 3.73% and the two-year yield also down by 4 basis points to 4.72%. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE:TLT) was 0.3% higher for the day. 

The dollar gained, with the U.S. dollar index, which is tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF (NYSE:UUP), up 0.5%. The EUR/USD pair, which is tracked by the Invesco CurrecyShares Euro Currency Trust (NYSE:FXE), was 0.5% lower to 1.0910.

European equity indexes closed in the green. The SPDR DJ Euro STOXX 50 Etf  (NYSE:FEZ) rose 0.2%. 

Staff writer Piero Cingari updated this report midday Wednesday. 

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