S&P 500 flat after hitting new yearly low, Nasdaq in the red

Yahoo Finance's Jared Blikre breaks down how markets opened on Wednesday.

Video Transcript

BRAD SMITH: Major averages are mixed right now. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500, they've slipped into negative territory. Let's take a look at the Dow as well. You're seeing that flat, just barely to the upside, holding onto gains by the hair of its chinny-chin-chin. For more, let's go on over to Yahoo Finance's own Jared Blikre standing by at the YFi Interactive. Jared.

JARED BLIKRE: Yes, well, let's pretend that equities matter for a second. The real action is in bonds and currencies, but the NASDAQ down about 1/4%. Dow in positive territory, S&P 500 treading water. By the way, Russell 2000 up about 7/10 of a percent. Here is the sector action for today. Not a lot of movement so far, although we do see healthcare and energy was just briefly in the green there. Tech taking it to the downside, down about 8/10 of a percent. Then we got those defensive sectors, staples and utilities, those are lagging today.

Looking at our leaders index, we see biotech up today. Also homebuilders, Ark, bonds. Now, I was looking at a corporate bond chart. And if you take a look at the volatility of corporate bonds expressed through CDS-- that is Credit Default Swaps, yeah-- lots of complicated words here. If you look at those, we are at the highest level since prior peaks where the Fed did intervene. Now this is going back about 20 years. However, this time might be a little bit different, at least in terms of the very long-term. I have to go back to early 1980s to see something similar.

Now, here's the S&P 500. We are at the lowest levels or almost at the lowest levels in over a year. Very similar story in the NASDAQ and the Dow, although I don't think the NASDAQ yet has undercut those June lows. If we take a look at the year to date chart, we can see, no, indeed, they have not, but very close on that front.

And I want to take a look at the VIX here. The VIX is elevated, you can see coming down. That's a red candle right there, coming down from that high. It looks like about 35, but also in the territory where we have reversed before. So if this is like the rest of the year, it's possible we could see some movement to the upside in equities. But this is giving me some consternation. ICE B of A MOVE Index-- this is bond volatility-- just hit the highest levels since the pandemic. So things could be accelerating to the upside.

Compounding this is a strong US dollar, and we've been talking about this a lot, but the US dollar and that strength really weighing on equities as well. Everything from cryptos to commodities, take your pick, we are feeling it. We're in the heat of it, that US dollar bearing down on everybody right now, guys.

BRIAN SOZZI: Feeling the pain. Jared Blikre, thanks so much.