US stocks mixed amid worries over lofty equity values

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were mixed early Wednesday as markets weighed lingering questions about lofty equity valuations and monetary policy against seasonal trading dynamics.

Analysts described a “buy-the-dip” tendency on Wall Street after equities struggled to gain traction on Tuesday.

December is usually a strong month for stocks, but equities have in recent days grappled with worries over huge gains by artificial intelligence stocks and concerns that the Federal Reserve won’t cut interest rates again soon.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3 percent at 48,238.99.

Wall Street slips on losses in healthcare stocks

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 6,791.49, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.3 percent to 23,048.12.

“Investors are getting a little worried that maybe we are headed for at least economic softness, weakness, and hopefully not a recession,” said CFRA Research’s Sam Stovall.

Among individual companies, Warner Bros. Discovery fell 1.0 percent after rejecting a hostile takeover bid by Paramount launched last week in favor of a plan to be acquired by Netflix.

Paramount Skydance fell 4.7 percent while Netflix rose 2.4 percent.