Stocks keep sinking in September. What can break them out of their funk?

By CNN Business

Updated 4:59 p.m. ET, September 15, 2021
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4:07 p.m. ET, September 15, 2021

Stocks finish higher

From CNN Business' Anneken Tappe

Wall Street ended in the green following a few wobbles in the morning.

The economic data of the day was in line or better than expected, but other than that there wasn’t much in the way of catalysts for investors to get excited about.

The Dow finished up 0.7%, or 237 points, while the S&P 500 rose 0.9%. The Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.8%.

1:12 p.m. ET, September 15, 2021

You can now invest in Roger Federer's shoes

From CNN Business' Anneken Tappe

Running brand On, which counts tennis star Roger Federer as one of its investors, went public on the New York Stock Exchange today under the ticker 'ONON'.

"We feel this is a good time, we've done our homework," said Caspar Coppetti, the company's co-founder.

Running is hot right now, and it helps to have the backing of a big name athlete like Federer.

"We're not sponsoring Roger, but we have asked him to put his money where his feet are," Coppetti joked on the CNN Business digital live show Markets Now.

The company opened its first flagship store in New York City a few months ago and will open several more strategic locations down the line while focusing on its direct-to-consumer channel.

1:08 p.m. ET, September 15, 2021

Why Petco's pandemic boost still means business for its brick-and-mortar business

From CNN Business' Anneken Tappe

Millions of households welcomed furry friends during the pandemic -- some 11 million new pets in 2020 alone, according to Petco (WOOF) CEO Ron Coughlin.

"We've been one of those unicorns that have benefitted during the lockdown and reopening," he said.

But unlike many other retailers, Petco's boost in its online business amid social distancing hasn't come at the expense of its in-person stores. "83% of our e-commerce orders get fulfilled via our brick-and-mortar locations," Coughlin told Alison Kosik on the CNN Business digital live show Markets Now.

Even so, Petco isn't immune to some of the pandemic's negative trends for retailers. Supplier prices are rising, and the company is passing those costs onto the consumer, Coughlin added.

12:56 p.m. ET, September 15, 2021

Big tech is long-term bullish, but the near-term could be bumpy: investor

From CNN Business' Anneken Tappe

Tech stocks have had a wild run during the pandemic but now investors are getting nervous that valuations are too high.

"Long-term I'm bullish but near-term might be a little bit frothy," said Lo Toney, founding managing partner at Plexo Capital.

"Obviously we're a little bit overheated. All the investors are looking at big tech almost as its own asset class now," because the sector outperformed the broader market so much, Toney said.

Yesterday, Apple (AAPL) unveiled a slew of new products, but Toney doesn't consider its announcement as all that innovative.

"We might have to wait until the next cycle to see something groundbreaking on the hardware side," he told Alison Kosik on the CNN Business live show Markets Now.

12:42 p.m. ET, September 15, 2021

Stocks are higher around midday

From CNN Business' Anneken Tappe

It's half-time of the trading day and stocks are back in the green after some earlier wobbles.

The Dow is up 0.4%, or 144 points. The S&P 500 is up 0.4% as well, while the Nasdaq Composite is only 0.1% higher.

Elsewhere, bond yields are more or less flat, with the 10-year US Treasury note yielding 1.32%. In the world of commodities, US oil prices are up nearly 3%. The price of gold is down 0.6%.

10:36 a.m. ET, September 15, 2021

American investing $200 million in Brazilian airline GOL

From CNN Business' Chris Isidore

American Airlines announced it is making a $200 million investment in Brazil's largest airline, GOL, giving it a 5% stake in the company.

The airlines also announced enhancements to their code-sharing agreement, which gives their customers access to the other carrier's flights.

It's a further sign that US airlines see an end of the significant cash crisis caused by the pandemic. When the crisis hit, American was burning through $100 million a day in cash in April 2020 and was still losing $30 million a day in last year's fourth quarter. The company said its cash burn ended in this year's second quarter and it added about $1 million a day in cash during that period. Most airlines, including American, also built up their cash reserves during the crisis by taking on more debt and selling additional shares of stock.

The pandemic is clearly not over in either the United States or Brazil. But airlines, including American, foresee a post-pandemic travel period with significant pent-up demand for international travel.

10:22 a.m. ET, September 15, 2021

US industrial production is chugging along

From CNN Business' Anneken Tappe

America's industrial production kept chugging along in August, data released earlier today showed. Production grew by 0.4% last month, a slightly slower pace than in July, while the rate of capacity utilization stood at 76.4%.

"Good news, obviously, but the details weren't perfect," said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO in a note to clients.

Production in mining fell while manufacturing, the index's biggest component, only inched up following July's big jump. Car production inched up but remains in the red year-over-year.

"What can you do when you don't have enough parts to complete the car? Put things on pause," Lee said.

10:13 a.m. ET, September 15, 2021

Stocks mostly inch higher

From CNN Business' Anneken Tappe

US stocks mostly inched higher Wednesday morning. The market has been struggling to defend its gains this week, and Wednesday’s session appears to fit into that pattern.

In economic news, the New York state manufacturing index jumped far more than expected.

The Dow opened flat, but soon gained some ground.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2%.

The Nasdaq Composite opened higher, but then lost its advantage and slipped.

10:35 a.m. ET, September 15, 2021

Meet Microsoft's new vice chairman

From CNN Business' Chris Isidore

Microsoft gave the title of vice chairman to Brad Smith, the company's president. Smith has been with the company since 1993, but unlike Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, and previous top executives at Microsoft like Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer, Smith's background is in law, rather than technology. He was chief counsel of Microsoft before he was named president in 2015.

“This reflects the unique leadership role that Brad plays for the company, our board of directors and me, with governments and other external stakeholders around the world,” said Nadella.

Microsoft also announced it is increasing its quarterly dividend by 11%, lifting the payment to shareholders by 6 cents to 62 cents a share, it announced late Tuesday.

The software giant said it would repurchase up to $60 billion worth of its own stock. The new share repurchase program, which has no expiration date, may be terminated at any time, it said.