Tag Archives: S&P 500

Stocks Rebound From 2-Year Low

TUESDAY – Stocks rose Tuesday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 bounced back from their lowest closing levels in nearly two years.

The British pound rebounded slightly after plunging to a record low against the dollar earlier in the week. Sterling traded more than 1% higher at $1.087 per dollar after hitting an all-time low of $1.0382.

Treasury yields also came off their highs, boosting sentiment. The benchmark 10-year yield dipped nearly 5 basis points to 3.823%.

Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans signaled some apprehension about the central bank raising rates too quickly to fight inflation, in contrast to a slew of Fed officials who recently reiterated a tough stance against rising prices.

The move comes after five straight days of losses for stocks, with the S&P 500 closing at its lowest level since 2020. The Dow dropped more than 300 points on Monday, putting it in a bear market after falling more than 20% below its record high. The 30-stock average also posted its lowest closing level since late 2020.

Technical indicators show that the selling has been historic. According to Bespoke Investment Group, the 10-day advance decline line for the S&P 500 has hit a record low, meaning market breadth is at its worst level in at least 32 years.

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Dow Starts Monday Off Lower

MONDAY – The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined on Monday as surging interest rates and foreign currency turmoil pressured markets.

The British pound dropped to a record low on Monday against the U.S. dollar. Sterling at one point fell 4% to an all-time low of $1.0382. The Federal Reserve’s aggressive hiking campaign, coupled with U.K.’s tax cuts announced last week has caused the U.S. dollar to surge. The euro hit the lowest vs. the dollar since 2002. A surging greenback can hurt the profits of U.S. multinationals and also wreak havoc on global trade, with so much of it transacted in dollars.

Traders will be closely watching the S&P 500 on Monday for any break below its bear market low. The S&P’s low close for the year in June was 3,666.77. It closed Friday at 3,693.23 after trading briefly below that close. The benchmark’s intraday low for the year is 3,636.87. Any trade below those levels could drive more selling in the market.

On Friday, stocks ended a brutal week with the blue-chip Dow finding a new intraday low for the year and closing lower by 486 points. The broad-market S&P 500 temporarily broke below its June closing low and ended down 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.8%.

Another super-sized rate hike by the Federal Reserve last week was the catalyst for the latest leg downward in markets. The central bank indicated it could raise rates as high as 4.6% before pulling back. The forecast also shows the Fed plans be aggressive this year, hiking rates to 4.4% before 2022 ends.

Bond yields soared after the Fed enacted another rate hike of 75 basis points. The 2-year and 10-year Treasury rates hit highs not seen in over a decade. On Friday, Goldman Sachs slashed its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 3,600 from 4,300.

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Stocks Tumble Again

MONDAY – U.S. stocks dropped on Monday morning, putting the S&P 500 on track to fall back into bear market territory and possibly to a new low for 2022. A jump in short-term rates drove the negative sentiment as investors still reeling from a hotter-than-expected inflation report on Friday braced for the Federal Reserve to raise rates later in the week.

The short-term 2-year Treasury yield rose by 17 basis points to more than 3.22% Monday, reaching its highest level since 2007 as investors bet the Fed may have to get even more aggressive to squash inflation. At one point in the session, the 2-year rate traded above its 10-year counterpart for the first time since April, a so-called yield curve inversion seen as an indicator of a recession.

The major averages last week posted their biggest weekly declines since late January as investors grew increasingly concerned rising inflation will tip the economy into a recession. The Dow and S&P 500 fell 4.6% and 5.1%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 5.6%. A chunk of those losses came Friday, when hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data spooked investors. The Dow dropped 880 points, or 2.7%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq lost 2.9% and 3.5%, respectively.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that the U.S. consumer price index rose last month by 8.6% from a year ago, its fastest increase since December 1981. That gain topped economists’ expectations. The so-called core CPI, which strips out food and energy prices, also came in above estimates at 6%.

On top of that, the preliminary June reading for the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index registered at a record low of 50.2.

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Stocks Start Week Flat

MONDAY – Stocks were steady Monday morning as a week filled with key economic reports kicked off, and investors continue to keep a close eye on the Fed’s planned interest rate hikes.

Parts of The Treasury yield curve inverted on Monday, raising some recession concerns. Earlier on Monday, the yield on the 5-year Treasury note rose to 2.6361%, while the 30-year yield was down less than 1 basis point to 2.6004%.

However, the main yield spread that traders watch — the spread between the 2-year and the 10-year rate — remained positive for now.

The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Friday to close out their second consecutive winning week. The Dow gained 153 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 advanced 0.5% and has more than erased its losses since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.2% but still finished the week in the green.

The moves came as investors continue to monitor developments in Russia’s war on Ukraine and expectations about the Fed’s plans to hike interest rates.

Investors are looking forward to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, this week. The JOLTS report is one set of employment data that the Federal Reserve is watching closely as it tightens monetary policy.

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Stocks Try To End Positive Week On A High Note

HTML clipboard FRIDAY – U.S. stocks rose slightly Friday morning as the S&P 500 looked to close out its second consecutive positive week.

The move comes after a solid session for stocks on Wednesday in which the S&P rose 1.4%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.9% and the Dow added 349 points.

For the week, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are up 1.3% and 2.1%, respectively. Both are on track for their second-straight winning week. The Dow is down marginally week to date.

The rebound has come even as the war in Ukraine continues and the Federal Reserve is set to hike interest rates several more times this year.

Traders are keeping an eye on Europe as the Ukraine-Russia continues. The European Union on Friday struck a gas deal with the U.S. in an effort to reduce its dependency on Russian energy.

The news comes after President Joe Biden said Thursday at a NATO summit in Brussels that the U.S. would respond if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine.

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Stocks Rise Slightly After Wednesday’s Losses

HTML clipboard THURSDAY – Stocks rose early Thursday morning as investors tried to recover from declines in Wednesday’s regular trading session.

Investors are continuing to monitor the war in Ukraine and weigh the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes amid persistent inflation.

NATO leaders met in Brussels Thursday to discuss increasing pressure on Russia, as Ukraine appears to be retaking ground in the war.

Last week, the Fed raised interest rates for the first time since 2018. Chair Jerome Powell on Monday vowed to be tough on inflation and opened the door for more aggressive half-percentage-point rate hikes.

The S&P 500 fell into correction territory late February, but is now 7.5% off its highs. The Dow is also 7% from its intraday record and the Nasdaq Composite is off by 14%.

Stocks have seesawed this week, alternating between up and down days. The Dow is about 1% lower on the week while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are little changed.

All three major averages are on track to close the month at least 1% higher.

On the data front, initial jobless claims last week totaled 187,000.

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Stocks Rise Ahead of Earnings

U.S. stock futures rose in early morning trading on Wednesday as investors digested another batch of corporate earnings and tech shares looked to build on their rebound.

Through Tuesday’s close, the Nasdaq Composite has gained more than 6% from its recent low on Jan. 27 after falling into correction territory earlier this year.

Mortgage applications dropped 10% week over week, however, as the rise in interest rates in recent months appears to have dampened demand among homebuyers.

Yields have risen this year in part because of a more aggressive stance from the Federal Reserve. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic told CNBC on Wednesday that three rate hikes are possible this year but that the central bank is not locked in to any path and will watch how the economy responds.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added more than 370 points, helped by a 7.8% pop in Amgen on the back of its strong earnings report. The S&P 500 also registered a gain, climbing 0.8%. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3%.

As of the closing bell on Tuesday, nearly 60% of all S&P 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter earnings and roughly 77% have topped Wall Street’s earnings estimates, according to FactSet.

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Mood turns cautious ahead of earnings season


MONDAY – U.S. stocks were lower Monday, with the market perhaps worried about what is likely to be a tougher earnings season.

At around 8:35 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a negative open of more than 100 points. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were both marginally lower.

Market focus is largely attuned to corporate results, with major U.S. banks set to get the ball rolling later in the week.

Analysts have warned that the upcoming earnings season could be the first quarter of contracting corporate results since 2016.

J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo are both set to report their latest figures on Friday.

Before that, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting are due to be released on Wednesday.

Following the Fed’s most recent meeting in March, the central bank decided to maintain interest rates and hold off on any further increases this year.

On the data front, factory orders for February will be published at around 10 a.m. ET.

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Stocks Rise For Second Week

SUNDAY – Stocks posted their second weekly rise on Friday as stocks were boosted by better-than-expected jobs data and progress on the U.S.-China trade front.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both rose about 2% this week, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.7%. On Friday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed up by 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively.

Materials and financials were the best-performing sectors this week, rising 4.3% and 3.3%, respectively. Bank shares led the gains in financials. Morgan Stanley rose more than 6% this week, while Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citigroup all ended the week up more than 5%.

The U.S. economy added 196,000 jobs in March, according to data released on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected 175,000. The U.S. unemployment rate, meanwhile, remained at 3.8%. However, wage growth expanded 3.2% just below an expected gain of 3.4%.

Wall Street was looking forward to this report after the previous jobs data showed growth of just 20,000. That number was revised higher to 33,000 on Friday.

Friday’s strong jobs report comes after the release of disappointing economic data earlier in the week. Activity in the U.S. services sector fell to its lowest level since August 2017 while payrolls data released on Wednesday was also below expectations.

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Stocks Start Lower On Economic Concerns

THURSDAY – U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday morning as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest announcement on monetary policy as well as a sharp drop in Biogen shares.

At 7:48 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a decline of 136 points at the open. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 also fell.

The Dow closed lower on Wednesday after the Fed announced a more dovish policy. Jerome Powell, the Fed’s chair, said the central bank is forecasting no rate hikes in 2019, which is down from two hikes forecast earlier. U.S. Treasury yields fell on the news, which added pressure on certain stocks, including banks.

Rising rates are good for banks since they are able to lend out money to investors at a profitable rate of interest. Lower interest rates restrict the bank’s ability to make profits thus adding pressure on margins.

The central bank also lowered its growth outlook for the year and indicated it would end its balance-sheet reduction process by the end of September.

U.S.-China trade is also in focus for investors after mixed comments from the White House. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington’s tariffs on Beijing could stay on for a “substantial period of time.”

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