by Sinéad Carew and Johann M Cherian

(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Tuesday as investors took into account the quarterly results of major U.S. companies while analyzing comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials on the possible timing of its easing monetary.

The Dow Jones index gained 0.37%, or 141.24 points, to 38,521.36 points.

The broader S&P-500 gained 11.42 points, or 0.23%, to 4,954.23 points.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 11.32 points (0.07%) to 15,609.00 points.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the U.S. central bank was “not done yet” with inflation, while noting that it had declined rapidly to near the target of 2%.

At the same time, the President of the Cleveland Fed, Loretta Mester, estimated that a rate cut could be considered if the American economy performs as well as expected. However, she did not want to mention any timetable for easing the Fed’s monetary policy.

These comments came after the president of the American central bank dashed the last hopes of a rate cut in March. Jerome Powell said in a television interview broadcast Sunday that the Fed could be cautious in deciding on monetary easing, citing the strength of the economy and the need to ensure inflation was under control.

“The main macroeconomic news of the day is that two Fed governors confirmed what Powell said this weekend. This put a little damper on the markets today, a bit of a continuation of yesterday (Monday)” , commented Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Virginia.

John Praveen, chief executive of Paleo Leon, said it was best for the Fed not to wait too long to cut rates, saying the concerns at small regional bank Bank NY Community Bancorp highlighted pressures on the industry commercial real estate, particularly sensitive to rates.

He noted that in his television interview, Jerome Powell mentioned commercial real estate, about which US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed concern on Tuesday for the impact on banks and property owners, while saying he thought the situation was manageable with the help of banking regulators.

Those comments may have fueled investor nervousness, John Praveen said.

Investors are also closely monitoring the earnings season, which has accelerated. More than half of the S&P-500 companies have already published their results; of these, 81.2% exceeded expectations, according to LSEG data.

GE HealthCare Technologies rose 11.6% after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results, sending the healthcare sector to a record high.

Palantir Technologies jumped 30.8% following a strong annual profit forecast.

Despite annual forecasts above expectations, Eli Lilly fell 0.20%.

( Jean Terzian)

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