Wall St ends flat as investors await CPI, earnings
Send a link to a friend
[April 09, 2024] By
Stephen Culp
NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. stocks were essentially unchanged at the close
of a choppy session on Monday, with a solar eclipse offering distraction
ahead of crucial inflation data and the kick-off of first-quarter
earnings season.
The S&P 500 and the Dow posted minimal losses while the Nasdaq ended
nominally higher. All three were held in check by the highest benchmark
U.S. Treasury yields since November in the wake of Friday's blowout
employment report.
That report heightened chances that the Federal Reserve could delay
implementing its first interest rate cut at its monthly Federal Open
Market Committee meetings longer than previously expected.
"Wall Street is adjusting expectations to reflect the fact that the Fed
could be slower to lower interest rates and that now the greatest
likelihood is for a rate cut to occur at the July FOMC meeting, rather
than June," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of CFRA
Research in New York.
On Wednesday, the Labor Department's March Consumer Price Index (CPI)
report is expected to show a slight cooldown in monthly price growth and
a nominal decrease in the annual core number, which excludes volatile
food and energy items.
"It's probably a better day to watch the eclipse than it is to trade
stocks," said Jay Hatfield, CEO and portfolio manager at InfraCap in New
York. "I don't think anybody wants to really reposition one way or the
other ahead of CPI."
Year-on-year headline CPI is expected to gain some heat, rising to 3.4%
from 3.2% in February, underscoring inflation's meandering journey back
to the Fed's 2% annual target.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said on Monday
the central bank must take into consideration how long it can maintain
its restrictive policy without damaging the economy.
"When I heard (Goolsbee) was speaking at one, I was relieved because I
know he's a dove," Hatfield added. "So, there was no need to worry about
the market melting down while everyone is looking at the sun."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Apr/09/images/ads/current/danieleeten_sda_SFARM_2024.png)
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/040924PIX/busine58.jpg)
A screen displays the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the close
of trading for the day on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 20, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan
McDermid
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Apr/09/images/ads/current/graue_lda_preowned_040824.jpg)
The first-quarter reporting season officially kicks off on Friday
with numbers from major U.S. banks JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup
Inc and Wells Fargo & Co.
As of Friday, analysts expect aggregated S&P 500 earnings growth of
5.0% year-on-year, down from the 7.2% annual estimate at the
beginning of the quarter, according to LSEG.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.24 points, or 0.03%, to
38,892.80. The S&P 500 lost 1.95 points, or 0.04%, at 5,202.39 and
the Nasdaq Composite added 5.44 points, or 0.03%, at 16,253.96.
Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, six closed lower, with
energy shares suffering the largest percentage loss.
Real estate notched the biggest advance.
Tesla provided a boost, rising 4.9% after CEO Elon Musk said the
company would unveil its self-driving Robotaxi on Aug. 8.
Cryptocurrency-related stocks also outperformed, tracking rising
bitcoin prices. Exchange operator Coinbase Global, and software firm
MicroStrategy rose 6.7% and 5.1%, respectively.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.57-to-1
ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.30-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq
Composite recorded 79 new highs and 84 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 9.50 billion shares, compared with the
11.53 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading
days.
(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Editing by Richard Chang)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |