Markets

The prospect of higher interest rates is diminishing investors’ appetite for riskier corners of the stock market. Many stocks suffering lately are businesses tied to technology and innovation, some of which don’t regularly turn a profit. The group includes shares that soared last year as the pandemic reshaped economic activity, and which may have looked too expensive as the U.S. economy increasingly reopened.

Square Inc., the financial-services company co-founded and led by former Twitter Inc. chief Jack Dorsey, is changing its corporate name to Block Inc. The change will be effective later this month, the company said Wednesday. Its ticker symbol will remain SQ.

American manufacturers’ supply-chain problems began to ease last month. The risk is that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 could quickly turn that into old news. The Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday said its index of factory activity rose to 61.1 in November from October’s 60.8, an indication that manufacturing continues to grow rapidly. Anything over 50 indicates expansion.

Wall Street indexes are clawing back some of the recent losses that were sparked by worries over the Omicron variant and the unwinding of Federal Reserve stimulus. Here’s what we’re watching in Wednesday’s trading: Salesforce elevated Bret Taylor to the role of co-chief executive officer and vice chairman, as it issued third-quarter results, including a muted sales outlook. Apple shares were up in early trading, pointing to another strong day after it managed to close up more than 3% on Tuesday, shrugging off the broader market’s decline. Information security firm Zscaler raised its revenue outlook for the year. As they mostly have in recent days, Covid-19 vaccine makers Moderna , Novavax and Pfizer were moving in the opposite direction of market sentiment. An outside pane...

ISTANBUL—Turkey’s central bank moved Wednesday to prop up the country’s collapsing currency, selling foreign reserves after the lira reached new lows following comments by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in defense of his unorthodox economic policies. The lira rebounded after the bank said it was taking action to address “unhealthy price formations in exchange rates.” The free-falling lira has heaped economic pressure on ordinary Turkish people, who are struggling with rising prices of food, fuel, medicine and other essential goods.

Higher energy prices are a worry for consumers and central bankers this winter, but they have the odd benefit. Case in point: fueling the renewable-energy revolution. This will be another record year for building wind and solar farms, according to a report published Wednesday by the International Energy Agency. About 290 gigawatts of generating capacity is expected to be installed, up 3% on an exceptionally strong 2020. The trend should continue with an average of 305 GW forecast annually through 2026.

Hedge-fund billionaire and New York Mets owner Steven A. Cohen is backing a startup that wants to let investors trade stocks 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Point72 Ventures, Mr. Cohen’s early-stage venture-capital fund, is leading a $14.25 million funding round for 24 Exchange. The companies announced the transaction Wednesday after it was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

Salesforce.com found someone else to share the top job. It still won’t be an easy one. The cloud software pioneer’s fiscal third-quarter results late Tuesday included the news that Bret Taylor, who has been serving as the company’s president and chief operating officer since 2019, has been named co-CEO to work alongside longtime chief Marc Benioff. It is the company’s second attempt at the unusual leadership structure; the first lasted 18 months until co-CEO Keith Block left in February 2020.

A post-Thanksgiving retreat in global stock indexes and energy prices intensified Tuesday, reflecting jitters over the impact of a new Covid-19 variant and rising inflation.  Nearly all the stocks in the S&P 500 fell as investors pulled away from riskier assets and sought haven in government bonds. The financial, communications, industrials, consumer staples and material sectors all declined more than 2%, and all 11 sectors in the index slid at least 1%. 

A lump of coal would be a welcome gift for many U.S. utilities. Coal piles at power plants have dwindled to their lowest point since the 1970s, and the race to build up inventories ahead of heating season has sent domestic thermal coal prices to their highest levels in more than a decade.