S&P 500 edges lower as investors hold their breath ahead of economic
data
Send a link to a friend
[March 05, 2024] By
Sinéad Carew and Ankika Biswas
(Reuters) -The S&P 500 closed slightly lower on Monday after a choppy
trading day as investors took a pause ahead of economic data and Fed
Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony.
Apple closed down 2.5% following a $2-billion EU antitrust fine for
preventing Spotify and other music streaming services from informing
users of payment options outside its App Store.
Rallies in chip stocks, including Nvidia, helped advance the S&P 500 to
fresh intraday records during the session as investors continued to bet
on demand for products powering artificial intelligence (AI) even though
were broadly cautious ahead of economic data.
But the S&P 500, after turning slightly positive late in the day,
started to lose ground again in the last hour of trading to fall back
into the red in the last few minutes of trading.
"This is one of those days where investors are on hold for the economic
data that's coming out later this week," said Burns McKinney, portfolio
manager, NFJ Investment Group.
Investors were waiting for insights into the U.S. economy's health from
key monthly data such as readings on the service sector, due on Tuesday,
and non-farm payrolls data due Friday, according to Scott Wren, senior
global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Mar/05/images/ads/current/graue_sda_042021.png)
"The market is still trying to digest what the outlook is for the
economy, earnings and the Federal Reserve," said Wren but he noted that
both institutional and retail investors have some fear of missing out as
they watch stocks hit fresh records.
"There's institutional money that can't sit on the books and watch the
S&P 500 go higher every day and retail investors are starting to have
the fear of missing out," said Wren. "Stocks are expensive but that
doesn't mean they can't get more expensive before some kind of a
pullback. Momentum is carrying the market and positive thinking is
carrying the market."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 97.55 points, or 0.25%, to
38,989.83, the S&P 500 lost 6.13 points, or 0.12%, to 5,130.95 and the
Nasdaq Composite dropped 67.43 points, or 0.41%, to 16,207.51.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/030524PIX/busine70.jpg)
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in
New York City, U.S., February 29, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Mar/05/images/ads/current/ldn_lda_BDPROMO_022924.png)
The S&P 500's communications services index was the benchmark's
weakest sector, ending down 1.5%, while defensive utilities, which
added 1.6%, was its biggest gainer for the day.
The Nasdaq had kicked off March by hitting an intraday record high
on Friday, also closing at its highest level for two straight days,
as the artificial intelligence-driven tech rally continues to steal
the spotlight on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 has also been on a winning streak recently, jumping over
21% with four straight months of gains through February. BofA Global
Research lifted its year-end target for the benchmark index to
5,400, from 5,000, representing a 5% upside from current levels.
Along with economic data, investors are also waiting for comments
from Fed chair Powell, who is due to testify before lawmakers on
Wednesday and Thursday.
AI server maker Super Micro Computer finished up 18.6% and shoe
maker Deckers Outdoor rose 2.6% ahead of their inclusion in the S&P
500 index.
Shares in Macy's jumped 13.5% after real-estate-focused investing
firm Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management raised their
offer for the department store chain.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.20-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.44-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 106 new 52-week highs and 8 new lows; the Nasdaq
Composite recorded 194 new highs and 99 new lows.
On U.S. exchanges 12.69 billion shares changed hands, ahead of the
11.87 billion moving average for the last 20 sessions.
(Reporting by Sinéad Carew in New York, Ankika Biswas and Amruta
Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Aurora Ellis)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |