by Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended mixed on Thursday, with economic data and comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials supporting the hypothesis that the central bank is waiting longer than expected to lower rates. rate, while, moreover, the results season is gaining in intensity.
The Dow Jones index gained 0.06%, or 23.87 points, to 37,777.18 points.
The broader S&P-500 lost 12.02 points, or 0.24%, to 5,010.19 points.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 82.35 points (0.52%) to 15,601.02 points.
The S&P-500 ended down for a fifth consecutive session – its worst series since last October -, illustrating the trough recently experienced by the main Wall Street indices after having, since November, multiplied the gains under the effect of optimism about interest rates and enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI).
Anticipated by market participants in the first months of 2024, by June at the latest, the Fed’s monetary policy easing appears to be receding, amid economic data showing that the labor market remains resilient – with a number stable weekly jobless claims – and cautious comments from US central bank officials following inflation data.
“It wouldn’t be surprising if we went through the spring with an air pocket for a while,” said Richard Alt, managing director of Carnegie Investment Counsel in Cleveland, Ohio.
“But if unemployment continues to remain low, consumers will continue to spend, to travel, to demand services, and this will carry business results and prices until the end of the year,” he said. -he adds.
Fed officials speaking Thursday again stressed that there is no urgency to start cutting rates. New York Fed President John Williams cited the strength of the economy, while his Atlanta counterpart, Raphael Bostic, said he favored waiting until inflation moved closer to target by 2%.
According to FedWatch, the markets are now betting only 15.2% on a first rate cut of 25 basis points in June, with July becoming the preferred option, although without unanimous approval.
At the same time, the quarterly results season is gaining momentum.
Genuine Parts jumped 11.22% – the largest percentage gain of the day on the S&P-500 – after raising its annual profit forecast.
Conversely, Equifax fell 8.49% after reporting forecasts for the current quarter that were lower than expected.
Meta Platforms rose 1.54% after Bernstein raised the tech giant’s price target.
(Written by Jean Terzian)
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