NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:

[bigdog]

Stock market today: Wall Street falls sharply to close out its worst week since October

U.S. stocks fell sharply following a mixed start to earnings reporting season. The S&P 500 sank 1.5% Friday.

apnews.com

Wall Street falls sharply to close out its worst week since October​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 6:39 AM GMT+10, April 13, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks tumbled Friday following a mixed start to earnings reporting season. Worries about potentially escalating tensions in the Middle East rattled financial markets, pushing investors to look for safer places for their money.

The S&P 500 sank 1.5% to close out its worst week since October, when a huge rally on Wall Street began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 475 points, or 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 1.6% from its record set the day before.

JPMorgan Chase was one of the heaviest weights on the market and sank 6.5% despite reporting stronger profit for the first three months of the year than analysts expected. The nation’s largest bank gave a forecast for a key source of income this year that fell below Wall Street’s estimate, calling for only modest growth.

The pressure is always on companies to produce fatter profits. But it’s particularly acute now given worries that the other main lever that sets stock prices, interest rates, may not offer much lift in the near term.

A stream of reports this year has shown both inflation and the overall economy remain hotter than expected. That’s forced traders to scale back forecasts for how many times the Federal Reserve may cut its main interest rate this year. Traders are largely betting on just two cuts, according to data from CME Group, down from forecasts for at least six at the start of the year.

U.S. stock indexes had already run to records in part on expectations for such cuts. Without easier interest rates, companies will need to produce bigger profits to justify their stock prices, which critics say look too expensive by various measures.

This year’s jump in oil prices has further raised worries of more upward pressure on inflation. Oil rose again Friday as tensions continue to roil the Middle East. Israel has said it could strike Iran if it launched an attack from its territory following the killings of Iranian generals in a blast at the Iranian consulate in Syria.

Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.8% to settle at $90.45 per barrel. It briefly topped $92 during the day and is roughly back to where it was in October.

At the same time, Treasury yields in the bond market sank and the price of gold rose, which is typical when investors are herding into investments seen as safer.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.51% from 4.58% late Thursday. Gold, which has been setting records, got close to touching $2,450 per ounce for the first time before paring its gain.

Adding to the nervousness was a preliminary report suggesting sentiment among U.S. consumers is sinking. It’s an important update because spending by U.S. consumers is the main engine of the economy.

Perhaps more worrisome was that U.S. consumers may be getting more pessimistic about inflation. Their forecasts for inflation in the coming 12 months hit the highest level since December. Such expectations could ignite a self-fulfilling prophecy, where purchases meant to get ahead of higher prices only inflame inflation.

That’s why so much scrutiny is on corporate profits. While the downside of a remarkably resilient U.S. economy is a diminished chance of rate cuts, the upside is that it should help prop up sales and earnings for businesses.

That’s helped growth in profits to broaden out to more kinds of companies, rather than just the Big Tech behemoths that dominated the market last year, according to David Lefkowitz, head of U.S. equities at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Because of that, he’s forecasting the S&P 500 could end the year around the 5,200 level, which is roughly where it closed Thursday. He says the index could maybe even rise to 5,500 if inflation pressures ease more quickly or corporate profit growth is stronger than expected.

On Wall Street, Wells Fargo slipped 0.4% after swinging between gains and losses through the day. It beat analysts’ forecasts for overall earnings for the latest quarter. But its net interest income, a key component of bank profits, came up shy of forecasts.

Citigroup fell 1.7% despite also reporting stronger-than-expected results, while State Street rose 2.5%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 75.65 points to 5,123.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 475.84 to 37,983.24, and the Nasdaq composite sank 267.10 to 16,175.09.

Banks are leading off a reporting season where analysts are forecasting companies in the S&P 500 will deliver a third straight quarter of growth, according to FactSet. This upcoming week will feature reports from such big names as Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth Group.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will be speaking at a closely watched Q&A event on Tuesday with a governor from the Bank of Canada. Other Fed officials will also be giving remarks through the week that could sway traders’ expectations for upcoming moves on interest rates and trigger Wall Street’s next swings.

 

[bigdog]

ASX 200 expected to sink​

The Australian share market looks set to sink on Monday following a selloff on Wall Street on Friday.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 50 points or 0.6% lower.

U.S. stocks tumbled Friday following a mixed start to earnings reporting season. Worries about potentially escalating tensions in the Middle East rattled financial markets, pushing investors to look for safer places for their money.


The S&P 500 sank 1.5% to close out its worst week since October, when a huge rally on Wall Street began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 475 points, or 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 1.6% from its record set the day before.

 

[bigdog]

Stock market today: Asian shares track Wall Street slump triggered by strong US spending data

Asian shares have skidded following a slump on Wall Street after higher yields in the U.S. bond market cranked up pressure on stocks.

apnews.com

Wall Street slumps as rising yields crank up the pressure​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 6:33 AM GMT+10, April 16, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks slumped Monday after higher yields in the bond market caused by a strong U.S. economy cranked up the pressure on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 tumbled 1.2%, following up on its 1.6% loss from last week, which was its worst since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 248 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite slumped 1.8%.

Stocks had been solidly higher earlier in the day, as oil prices eased with hopes that international efforts to calm escalating tensions in the Middle East may help. But Treasury yields also spurted upward following the latest report on the U.S. economy to blow past expectations.

The economy and financial markets are in an awkward phase where such strength raises hopes for growing profits at companies but also hurts prospects for easier interest rates from the Federal Reserve. They’re the two main levers that set stock prices, and they’re simultaneously yanking Wall Street in different directions.

Traders want lower interest rates, which can give the overall economy a boost, and much of the U.S. stock market’s run to records recently was built on expectations for cuts.

But strong reports like Monday’s, which showed U.S. shoppers increased their spending at retailers last month by more than expected, have traders broadly forecasting just one or two cuts to rates this year, according to data from CME Group. That’s down from expectations for six or more cuts at the start of this year. Some traders are bracing for potentially no cuts because inflation and the overall economy have remained stubbornly above forecasts this year.

High interest rates and bond yields hurt prices for all kinds of investments, particularly those that look expensive or those that compete for the same kinds of investors as bonds do.

As a result, real-estate investment trusts fell to some of Monday’s sharpest losses in the stock market. When bonds are paying higher yields, they peel away investors who might otherwise be interested in the relatively big dividends that real-estate stocks pay. High rates can also pressure real estate prices broadly.

Office owner Boston Properties fell 3.2%, for example.

More influential was weakness for Big Tech stocks. Apple dropped 2.2%, Nvidia fell 2.5% and Microsoft sank 2%. They’ve been past beneficiaries of low interest rates and often feel pressure when yields are rising. Because they’re also the largest stocks on Wall Street, their movements carry extra weight on the S&P 500 and other indexes.

Microsoft, for example, swung from an early gain of 1.2% to its loss in the afternoon and was the second-largest force weighing on the S&P 500.

Helping to keep the losses in check were some financial companies that reported encouraging earnings for the start of the year. The pressure is on companies broadly to deliver fatter profits because interest rates looks so much less likely to offer support in the near term.

Goldman Sachs rose 2.9% following its report.

M&T Bank climbed 4.7% after reporting profit for the first quarter that was slightly above analysts’ expectations. It also said it slightly shrunk the amount of pain that it would take if the pressured commercial real-estate industry sinks sharply.

Charles Schwab rose 1.7% after also edging past analysts’ forecasts for its profit last quarter.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 61.59 points to 5,061.82. The Dow dropped 248.13 to 37,735.11, and the Nasdaq composite sank 290.08 to 15,885.02.

In the oil market, a barrel of U.S. crude for May delivery fell 25 cents to $85.41 as political leaders urged Israel not to retaliate after Iran’s attack on Saturday involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. Brent crude, the international standard, eased 35 cents to $90.10 per barrel.

Financial markets had been nervous heading into the weekend. The worry was that an attack by Iran could widen Israel’s war with Hamas and ultimately constrict the flow of crude oil. But Israel said 99% of the drones and missiles were intercepted as diplomats urged a de-escalation and the U.S. administration made clear it did not support a wider war with Iran.

This year’s jump in oil prices has been raising worries about a knock-on effect on inflation, which has remained stubbornly high. After cooling solidly last year, inflation has consistently come in above forecasts in each month so far of 2024.

“If inflation is sticky because of momentum in the economy, that’s not necessarily bad for stocks,” Bank of America strategists led by Ohsung Kwon wrote in a BofA Global Research report. “But stagflation is,” referring to the painful combination of a stagnating economy and high inflation.

Strategists at Wells Fargo Investment Institute raised their forecast for where the S&P 500 could end this year in part because of the surprising strength of the U.S. economy. While they expect stock prices to be choppy following big gains since October, they say a growing U.S. economy should drive sales for companies.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.61% from 4.52% late Friday.

ASX 200 expected to fall again​

The Australian share market is expected to fall again on Tuesday following a very poor start to the week on Wall Street.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 63 points or 0.8% lower.

U.S. stocks slumped Monday after higher yields in the bond market caused by a strong U.S. economy cranked up the pressure on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 tumbled 1.2%, following up on its 1.6% loss from last week, which was its worst since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 248 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite slumped 1.8%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 61.59 points to 5,061.82. The Dow dropped 248.13 to 37,735.11, and the Nasdaq composite sank 290.08 to 15,885.02.



Market Watch

 

[bigdog]

Stock market today: Asian benchmarks trade mixed amid expectations for US rates to stay high

Asian shares are trading mixed after most U.S. stocks slipped on rising expectations interest rates may stay high for a while.

apnews.com

Most of Wall Street slips as expectations rise for rates to stay high​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:17 AM GMT+10, April 17, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — Most U.S. stocks slipped Tuesday, and Treasury yields rose on expectations that interest rates may stay high for a while.

The S&P 500 fell 10.41 points, or 0.2%, to 5,051.41. The index deepened its loss from the day before, when it sank under the pressure brought by a jump in Treasury yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63.86, or 0.2%, to 37,798.97, and the Nasdaq composite fell 19.77, or 0.1%, to 15,865.25.

A 5.2% climb for UnitedHealth helped support the market after the insurer reported stronger results for the first three months of the year than analysts expected. Morgan Stanley was another winner, rising 2.5%, after likewise topping expectations.

But the majority of stocks fell as Treasury yields rose following comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. They’ve been climbing rapidly as traders give up hopes that the Fed will deliver many cuts to interest rates this year. High rates hurt prices for all kinds of investments and raise the risk of a recession in the future.

Powell said at an event Tuesday that the central bank has been waiting to cut its main interest rate, which is at its highest level since 2001, because it first needs more confidence inflation is heading sustainably down to its 2% target.

“The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence and instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence,” he said, referring to a string of reports this year that showed inflation remaining hotter than forecast.

He suggested if higher inflation does persist, the Fed will hold rates steady “for as long as needed.” But he also acknowledged the Fed could cut rates if the job market unexpectedly weakens.

Treasury yields climbed immediately after Powell’s comments. They had already been higher after the Fed’s vice chair made similar comments earlier in the day.

Philip Jefferson said his expectation is for inflation to keep easing and for the Fed to hold its main rate “steady at its current level.” That contrasted with his remarks in February, when he said “it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year” if things went as he expected.

The yield on the two-year Treasury, which tracks expectations for Fed action, shot as high as 5% immediately after Powell spoke and got back to where it was in November.

But yields later pared their gains as the afternoon progressed, and the two-year yield drifted back to 4.98%. That’s still up from 4.91% late Monday.

Traders are mostly betting on the Fed delivering just one or two cuts to interest rates this year after coming into 2024 expecting six or more. They’re now also betting on a 12.5% probability that no cuts are coming, up from just 1.2% a month ago, according to data from CME Group.

The threat of rates staying high for longer hit real-estate investment trusts and utility stocks particularly hard. They pay relatively high dividends and tend to attract the same kind of investors as bonds do. When bonds are paying higher yields, income-seeking investors may camp there instead.

Real-estate stocks fell 1.5% for the largest loss among the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500. Utilities weren’t far behind with a loss of 1.4%.

High rates can also translate into more expensive mortgages, and stocks of homebuilders slumped after a report showed they broadly broke ground on fewer sites last month than economists expected. Lennar fell 2.3%, and D.R. Horton sank 2%.

Northern Trust slumped 5% after the financial services company reported weaker earnings for the start of the year than analysts expected. Johnson & Johnson sank 2.1% despite topping profit forecasts. Its revenue came in a whisper below expectations.

Companies are under even more pressure than usual to report fatter profits and revenue because the other lever that sets stock prices, interest rates, looks unlikely to add much lift soon.

The stock of Donald Trump’s social-media company also slumped again. Trump Media & Technology Group fell another 14.2% to follow up on its 18.3% slide from Monday.

The company said it’s rolling out a service to stream live TV on its Truth Social app, including news networks and “other content that has been cancelled, is at risk of cancellation, or is being suppressed on other platforms and services.”

The stock has dropped below $23 after nearing $80 last month as euphoria fades around the stock and the company made moves to clear the way for some investors to sell shares.

In markets abroad, stock indexes tumbled across Asia and Europe as they caught up with the drubbing Wall Street took on Monday. Stock indexes fell 2.1% in Hong Kong, 2.3% in Seoul and 1.8% in London.

ASX 200 expected to fall again​

It looks set to be another poor session for the Australian share market on Wednesday following a mixed night in the United States.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 23 points or 0.3% lower.

Most U.S. stocks slipped Tuesday, and Treasury yields rose on expectations that interest rates may stay high for a while.

The S&P 500 fell 10.41 points, or 0.2%, to 5,051.41. The index deepened its loss from the day before, when it sank under the pressure brought by a jump in Treasury yields.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63.86, or 0.2%, to 37,798.97, and the Nasdaq composite fell 19.77, or 0.1%, to 15,865.25.

 

[bigdog]

Stock market today: Asian shares gain despite Wall Street's tech-led retreat

Asian shares have advanced even after sinking technology stocks sent Wall Street lower again. U.S. futures were lower, while oil prices gained.

apnews.com

Wall Street dips to send S&P 500 to its longest losing streak since January​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:08 AM GMT+10, April 18, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — Sinking technology stocks sent Wall Street lower again on Wednesday, and the S&P 500 fell to its fourth straight loss.

The index dipped 29.20 points, or 0.6%, to 5,022.21 for its longest losing streak since early January. It’s down 4.4% since setting a record late last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 45.66 points, or 0.1%, to 37,753.31, and the Nasdaq composite sank 181.88, or 1.1%, to 15,683.37.

Tech stocks slumped after ASML, a Dutch company that’s a major supplier to the semiconductor industry, reported weaker orders for the start of 2024 than analysts expected. Its stock trading in the United States slumped 7.1%.

Nvidia dropped 3.9%, and Broadcom sank 3.5% to serve as the two heaviest weights on the S&P 500.

The weakness for tech overshadowed stronger-than-expected profit reports from some big companies, including United Airlines. It soared 17.4% after reporting stronger results for the start of the year than analysts expected, lifted by strong demand from business fliers.

The losses also came despite easing pressure from the bond market, which has been dictating much of Wall Street’s action lately. Sharp tumbles for oil prices lessened investors’ worries about inflation, which in turn helped Treasury yields ease.

The 10-year Treasury yield sank to 4.58% from 4.67% late Tuesday. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for the Fed, fell to 4.92% from 4.99%.

They gave back some of their big recent gains driven by traders giving up on hopes for imminent cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve.

Yields on Tuesday had returned to where they were in November after top officials at the Federal Reserve suggested the central bank may hold its main interest steady for a while. It wants to get more confidence that inflation is sustainably heading toward its target of 2%. Its main interest rate has been sitting at its highest level since 2001.

High interest rates hurt prices for investments and increase the risk of a recession, but Fed officials are concerned after a string of reports this year has shown inflation remaining hotter than forecast.

Traders are now mostly expecting just one or two cuts to interest rates from the Federal Reserve this year, according to data from CME Group. That’s down from forecasts for six or more at the start of the year.

With little near-term help expected from an easing of interest rates, companies will need to deliver fatter profits to justify their big runs in stock price since autumn.

“I think markets are waiting on corporate news to decide where they’ll head next,” said JJ Kinahan, CEO of IG North America.

Travelers slumped 7.4% after the insurer’s quarterly results fell short of forecasts. It had to contend with more losses from catastrophes.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services fell 8.1% after reporting weaker revenue and results than expected. It was hurt in part by competition in the eastern part of the country and by higher wages for workers and other costs.

On the winning side of Wall Street was Omnicom Group. It rose 1.6% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The marketing and communications company highlighted growth trends in most markets around the world, outside the Middle East and Africa.

The stock of Donald Trump’s social media company also continued to swing sharply, this time jumping 15.6%. That followed two straight losses of more than 14%. Experts say the stock is caught up in frenzied trading driven more by public sentiment around the former president than by the business prospects of the company.

In stock markets abroad, London’s FTSE 100 added 0.4% after a report showed U.K. inflation fell to its lowest level in two and a half years in March. That could further pave the way for a cut in interest rates there.

Other indexes rose modestly in Europe, while they were mixed in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.3%, while stocks jumped 2.1% in Shanghai.

ASX 200 expected to RISE​

The Australian share market looks set for a better session on Thursday despite a poor night on Wall Street.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 20 points or 0.25% higher this morning.

Sinking technology stocks sent Wall Street lower again on Wednesday, and the S&P 500 fell to its fourth straight loss.

The index dipped 29.20 points, or 0.6%, to 5,022.21 for its longest losing streak since early January. It’s down 4.4% since setting a record late last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 45.66 points, or 0.1%, to 37,753.31, and the Nasdaq composite sank 181.88, or 1.1%, to 15,683.37.

 

[bigdog]

Stock market today: Asian markets sink, with Japan’s Nikkei down 3.5%, as Mideast tensions flare

Asian stocks have tumbled, with Japan’s Nikkei slumping 3.5% on heavy selling of semiconductor-related shares and other market heavyweights.

apnews.com

Wall Street drifts to a mixed finish as yields tick higher​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:47 AM GMT+10, April 19, 2024

U.S. stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Thursday in a quiet day of trading.

The S&P 500 fell 11.09 points, or 0.2%, to 5,011.12 after flipping between small gains and losses through the day. The drop was slight, but it was still enough to send the index to a fifth straight loss. That’s its longest losing streak since October, and it’s sitting 4.6% below its record set late last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by 22.07 points, or 0.1%, to 37,775.38, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 81.87, or 0.5%, to 15,601.50.

Equifax dropped 8.5% for one of the market’s bigger losses after it reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. High interest rates are pressuring its mortgage credit inquiry business.

The only stock to fall more in the S&P 500 was Las Vegas Sands, which sank 8.7% even though it reported better results than expected. Analysts said investors may be worried about competition the casino and resort company is facing in Macau.

Helping to offset those losses was Elevance Health, which climbed 3.2% after raising its profit forecast for the full year. Genuine Parts jumped 11.2% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the distributor of automotive and industrial replacement parts reported stronger profit than analysts expected. It also raised its range for forecasted profits over the full year.

Stocks broadly have been struggling recently as yields in the bond market charge higher. They’re cranking up the pressure because investors have largely given up on hopes that the Federal Reserve will deliver many cuts to interest rates this year.

Yields climbed a bit higher after more reports on Thursday showed the U.S. economy remains stronger than expected.

One report said fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected. It’s the latest sign that the job market remains solid despite high interest rates.

That resilience “continues to generate a solid flow of paychecks to keep fueling consumer demand,” according to Carl Riccadonna, chief U.S. economist at BNP Paribas. His team is forecasting the U.S. economy grew at a faster rate in the first three months of the year than other economists generally.

Another report on Thursday said growth in manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region accelerated sharply, when economists were expecting a contraction.

A third report said sales of previously occupied U.S. homes didn’t fall by quite as much last month as economists expected.

Similar such data, along with a string of reports showing inflation has remained hotter than forecast this year, pushed top Fed officials to say recently they could hold interest rates high for a while.

It’s a letdown after the Fed earlier had signaled three cuts to interest rates could be possible this year. But Fed officials have been adamant they want to be sure inflation is heading down toward their 2% target before lowering the Fed’s main interest rate from its highest level since 2001.

Lower rates would juice the economy and financial markets, but they could also give inflation fuel to reaccelerate.

Traders are now forecasting just one or two cuts to rates this year, according to data from CME Group, down from expectations for six or more at the start of the year.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.63% from 4.59% late Wednesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more closely with expectations for Fed action, rose to 4.98% from 4.94%.

The hoped-for upside on Wall Street of a strong economy that’s keeping interest rates high is that it could also drive strong growth in profits. Companies will need to deliver such strength in order to justify the run stock prices have been on since late October, setting records along the way.

The recent drops for stock prices have made them look less expensive, but they won’t look cheap unless either prices fall further or profits jump higher.

Alaska Air, the carrier that suffered a midflight blowout of a door plug on a Boeing aircraft in January, rose 4% after it projected better profits for the current quarter than analysts expected.

Ally Financial jumped 6.7% after reporting stronger earnings for the latest quarter than Wall Street had forecast.

Ibotta, a Walmart-backed digital company that offers customers cash-back rewards and rebates on grocery brands ranging from Nestle to Coca-Cola, soared 17.3% in its first day of trading.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly across much of Europe and Asia. South Korea’s Kospi was a standout. It jumped 2% to help lead markets worldwide.

ASX 200 expected to fall​

The Australian share market looks set to end the week in the red following a poor night on Wall Street.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 55 points or 0.8% lower this morning.
U.S. stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Thursday in a quiet day of trading.

The S&P 500 fell 11.09 points, or 0.2%, to 5,011.12 after flipping between small gains and losses through the day. The drop was slight, but it was still enough to send the index to a fifth straight loss. That’s its longest losing streak since October, and it’s sitting 4.6% below its record set late last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by 22.07 points, or 0.1%, to 37,775.38, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 81.87, or 0.5%, to 15,601.50.

 

[bigdog]

Stock market today: Tumbling tech stocks drag Wall Street to the finish line of another losing week

The worst week for big technology stocks since the COVID crash in 2020 dragged Wall Street across the finish line of another losing week.

apnews.com

Tumbling tech stocks drag Wall Street to the finish line of another losing week​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:37 AM GMT+10, April 20, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst week for big technology stocks since the COVID crash in 2020 dragged Wall Street on Friday across the finish line of another losing week.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.9% to close out its third straight losing week. That’s its longest such streak since September, before it broke into a romp that sent it to a string of records this year.

The Nasdaq composite sank 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, was an outlier and rose 211 points, or 0.6%.

The market’s worst performers included several stocks that had been its biggest stars. Super Micro Computer lost more than a fifth of its value, dropping 23.1%. The company, which sells server and storage systems used in AI and other computing, had soared nearly 227% for the year coming into the day.

Nvidia, another stock that has surged to dizzying heights due to Wall Street’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, also gave up some of its big recent gains. It slumped 10% and was the heaviest single weight on the S&P 500, by far, because of its huge size.

Tech stocks in the S&P 500 broadly lost 7.3% this week for their worst performance since March 2020 as some global giants reported discouraging trends. ASML, a Dutch company that’s a major supplier to the semiconductor industry, reported weaker-than-expected orders for the start of 2024, for example.

The larger threat was a dawning, dispiriting acknowledgement sweeping Wall Street that interest rates may likely stay high for longer.

Top Fed officials said this week that they could hold interest rates at their high level for a while. That’s a letdown for traders after the Fed had signaled earlier that three cuts to interest rates could be possible this year.

High rates hurt prices for all kinds of investments. Some of the hardest hit tend to be those seen as the most expensive and which make investors wait the longest for big growth, which can make tech stocks vulnerable.

Lower rates had earlier appeared to be on the horizon after inflation cooled sharply last year. But a string of reports this year showing inflation has remained hotter than expected has raised worries about stalled progress.

Fed officials are adamant that they want to see additional proof inflation is heading down toward their 2% target before lowering the Fed’s main interest rate, which is at its highest level since 2001.

Traders are now largely forecasting just one or two cuts to rates this year, according to data from CME Group, down from expectations for six or more at the start of the year. They’re also betting on the possibility of no cuts to rates this year.

But Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, expects inflation to moderate as U.S. households that have become “hypersensitive to price hikes” by businesses begin slowing their spending.

“The giant sucking sound of optimism (escaping) from the market is due to the Fed’s lack of foresight and irrational focus on where inflation has been instead of where it’s going,” he said.

Because interest rates look unlikely to offer much help in the near term, companies are under even more pressure to deliver growth in profits. The recent drops in price have cooled a bit of the criticism that stocks had grown too expensive, but they won’t look cheap unless either prices fall further or profits jump higher.

Netflix sank 9.1% despite reporting stronger profits for the latest quarter than expected. Analysts called it a mostly solid performance, but the streaming giant disappointed some investors by saying it will stop giving updates on its subscriber numbers every three months, beginning next year.

Helping to limit the market’s losses was American Express, which rose 6.2%. It reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Fifth Third Bancorp rose 5.9% after it likewise topped expectations.

All told, the S&P 500 dropped 43.89 points to 4,967.23. It’s 5.5% below its record set late last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 211.02 to 37,986.40, and the Nasdaq composite fell 319.49 to 15,282.01.

In the oil market, a barrel of Brent crude pulled back to $87.29 after briefly leaping above $90 overnight on worries about fighting in the Middle East. Iranian troops fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site during an apparent Israeli drone attack, raising worries in the market. But crude prices pared their gains as traders questioned how Iran would respond.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.62% from 4.64% late Thursday to trim its gain for the week. It had been down more overnight, when worries were spiking about a potentially broadening war in the Middle East.

In markets abroad, stock indexes were mixed in Europe after falling more sharply in Asia.

 

[bigdog]

ASX 200 expected to rise​

The Australian share market looks set to rebound on Monday despite another selloff on Wall Street on Friday.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 27 points or 0.35% higher.
The worst week for big technology stocks since the COVID crash in 2020 dragged Wall Street on Friday across the finish line of another losing week.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.9% to close out its third straight losing week. That’s its longest such streak since September, before it broke into a romp that sent it to a string of records this year.

The Nasdaq composite sank 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, was an outlier and rose 211 points, or 0.6%.

All told, the S&P 500 dropped 43.89 points to 4,967.23. It’s 5.5% below its record set late last month.

 

[bigdog]

Stock market today: Asian stocks track Wall Street gains ahead of earnings reports

Asian benchmarks extend gains after U.S. stocks claw back some of their losses from last week. The yen weakened further to fresh 34-year lows.

apnews.com

Wall Street climbs to kick off a big week for earnings reports​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:11 AM GMT+10, April 23, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks climbed Monday and clawed back a chunk of their losses from last week, which was the worst for the S&P 500 in more than a year.

The S&P 500 rose 0.9% to recover more than a quarter of last week’s rout. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 253 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.1%.

The rally was widespread, and most stocks across Wall Street rose. In the S&P 500, technology stocks led the way to bounce back from their worst week since the COVID crash of 2020.

Nvidia leaped 4.4%, and Alphabet climbed 1.4% as Treasury yields stabilized in the bond market. Last week, a jump in yields cranked up the pressure on stocks, particularly those seen as the most expensive and making their investors wait the longest for big growth.

Bank stocks were also strong following some encouraging profit reports. Truist Financial rallied 3.4% after its profit for the start of the year topped analysts’ expectations.

They helped offset a 3.4% drop for Tesla, which announced more cuts to prices over the weekend. Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle company has seen its stock drop more than 40% already this year, and it will report its first-quarter results on Tuesday.

It’s a big week for earnings reports generally, with roughly 30% of the companies in the S&P 500 scheduled to say how much they made during the year’s first three months. That includes companies that have come to be known as part of the “Magnificent Seven,” beyond Tesla and Alphabet. This handful of companies was responsible for the majority of the S&P 500’s big gain last year, raising the bar of expectations for them to justify their stock prices.

Analysts believe those seven stocks saw growth in their earnings per share slow to 39% as a group from 63% at the end of last year, according to strategists at Bank of America. This past quarter may also have marked the trough for earnings declines among the other 493 companies in the index.

The difference in growth between the Magnificent Seven and the rest of the S&P 500 should close by the end of the year, strategists Ohsung Kwon and Savita Subramanian said in a BofA Global Research Report.

Verizon Communications helped kick off this week’s reports by disclosing a drop in profit that wasn’t as bad as analysts expected. It cited price increases and other measures to support its revenue. Verizon’s stock swung from an early gain to a loss of 4.7% after it reported weaker revenue for the first quarter than expected and kept its forecast for full-year profit the same.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 43.37 points to 5,010.60. The Dow gained 253.58 to 38,239.98, and the Nasdaq jumped 169.30 to 15,451.31.

Even more pressure than usual is on companies broadly to deliver fatter profits and revenue. That’s because the other big factor that sets stock prices, interest rates, looks unlikely to offer much help in the near term.

Top officials at the Federal Reserve warned last week that they may need to keep interest rates high for a while in order to ensure inflation is heading down to their 2% target. That was a big letdown for financial markets, dousing hopes that had built after the Fed signaled earlier that three interest-rate cuts may come this year.

Lower rates had appeared to be on the horizon after inflation cooled sharply last year. But a string of reports this year showing inflation has remained hotter than expected has raised worries about stalled progress.

Worries about “sticky” inflation are one of the reasons strategists at Stifel are encouraging investors to stay cautious.

Stocks generally look more expensive, in part because of a frenzy on Wall Street around anything related to artificial-intelligence technology. Some analysts are suggesting stock prices could keep steaming ahead as the mania around AI builds even higher, but Stifel’s Barry Bannister and Thomas Carroll point to signs that “the speculative fever would break” for tech, including a possible top for the price of bitcoin. They suggest caution well into the year’s third quarter, which stretches from July through September.

Bitcoin remains below its peak set a month ago, but it rose Monday.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.61% from 4.63% late Friday. The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more closely with expectations for the Fed, slipped to 4.97% from 4.99%.

In markets abroad, stocks rose 1.8% in Hong Kong but fell 0.7% in Shanghai after the People’s Bank of China kept its 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates unchanged. The Chinese central bank is waiting to see if more stimulus is needed after the world’s second-largest economy expanded at a faster-than-expected rate in the first three months of the year, according to analysts.

Stock indexes were higher across much of the rest of Asia and Europe.

ASX 200 expected to rise​

The Australian share market is expected to rise again on Tuesday following a decent start to the week on Wall Street.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 19 points or 0.2% higher.

U.S. stocks climbed Monday and clawed back a chunk of their losses from last week, which was the worst for the S&P 500 in more than a year.

The S&P 500 rose 0.9% to recover more than a quarter of last week’s rout. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 253 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.1%.

The rally was widespread, and most stocks across Wall Street rose. In the S&P 500, technology stocks led the way to bounce back from their worst week since the COVID crash of 2020.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 43.37 points to 5,010.60. The Dow gained 253.58 to 38,239.98, and the Nasdaq jumped 169.30 to 15,451.31

 

[bigdog]

Stock market today: Tokyo's Nikkei leads Asian gains following Wall Street rally

Asian shares have opened higher, led by an over 2% gain in Japan’s Nikkei 225 after U.S. stocks rallied for a second straight day Tuesday, blunting the blow of what’s been a rough April.

apnews.com

Wall Street rallies again to erase more of April’s losses​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:26 AM GMT+10, April 24, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied for a second straight day Tuesday to blunt the blow of what’s been a rough April.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.2% and pulled further out of the hole created by a six-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 263 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.6%.

A weaker-than-expected report on U.S. business activity helped support the market, which remains in an awkward phase. The hope on Wall Street is for the economy to avoid a severe recession, but not to stay so hot that it keeps upward pressure on inflation.

The preliminary report from S&P Global released Tuesday seemed to hit that sweet spot. Treasury yields eased in the bond market, and stocks added to gains immediately after its release.

Wall Street’s momentum is moving stocks higher. AP business correspondent Seth Sutel has more.

A flood of earnings reports also dictated much of trading, highlighted by a slew of companies that topped analysts’ expectations.

GE Aerospace flew 8.3% higher after it raised its profit forecast for the full year, in addition to beating expectations for first-quarter earnings.

Kimberly-Clark gained 5.5% after the maker of Huggies, Kleenex and Kotex also raised its earnings forecast for the full year. General Motors revved up by 4.4% after citing sales of pickup trucks and other higher-profit vehicles. Danaher rose 7.2% after pointing to strength in its bioprocessing and molecular diagnostics businesses.

They helped overshadow an 8.9% drop for Nucor after the steelmaker fell short of forecasts for both profit and revenue.

MSCI, whose investment indexes guide much of the industry, fell 13.4% after reporting weaker revenue growth than expected. Invesco sank 6.4% after falling short of expectations for both earnings and revenue.

JetBlue Airways lost 18.8% despite topping expectations for the latest quarter. Its forecasts for upcoming revenue came up short of what some analysts expected, and it said competition in Latin America could weigh on its results.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 59.95 points to 5,070.55. The Dow gained 263.71 to 38,503.69, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 245.33 to 15,696.64.

The market’s main event may have arrived after trading finished for the day. Tesla reported its results for the first three months of the year, becoming the first to do so among the “Magnificent Seven” stocks that accounted for most of last year’s gains for the S&P 500.

Expectations are high for each of the “Mag 7” after they rocketed to big gains in 2023, and they’ll need to at least match them to justify their prices.

Several had been leading the recent decline for the broader market, which saw the S&P 500 fall as much as 5.5% in April. “This underscores the importance of earnings in the next two weeks, which will be dominated by the Mag7, and the risk that disappointing results may accelerate the sell-off,” according to Barclays strategists led by Stefano Pascale and Anshul Gupta.

With skeptics still calling the broad stock market too expensive, criticism would ease only if companies were to produce higher profits or if interest rates were to fall. The latter has been looking less likely.

Top officials at the Federal Reserve warned last week they may need to keep interest rates high for a while in order to ensure inflation is heading down to their 2% target. That was a big letdown for financial markets, dousing hopes that had built after the Fed signaled earlier that three interest-rate cuts may come this year.

Lower rates had appeared to be on the horizon after inflation cooled sharply last year. But a string of reports this year showing inflation has remained hotter than expected has raised worries about stalled progress.

That’s why Tuesday’s report suggesting a slowdown in growth for overall business activity across the country was so welcomed. It could keep the door open for the Fed to cut interest rates the one or two times that many traders are currently forecasting.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.59% to relieve the pressure on stocks broadly, particularly high-growth ones and those that pay high dividends. The 10-year yield had been at 4.64% just before the report’s release and at 4.61% late Monday.

The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more on expectations for Fed action, had a similar drop. It fell to 4.92% from 4.97% late Monday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe. They were mixed earlier in Asia. Stocks jumped 1.9% in Hong Kong but fell 0.7% in Shanghai.

ASX 200 expected to rise again​

It looks set to be another good session for the Australian share market on Wednesday following a strong night in the United States.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 27 points or 0.3% higher.
U.S. stocks rallied for a second straight day Tuesday to blunt the blow of what’s been a rough April.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.2% and pulled further out of the hole created by a six-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 263 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.6%.

A weaker-than-expected report on U.S. business activity helped support the market, which remains in an awkward phase. The hope on Wall Street is for the economy to avoid a severe recession, but not to stay so hot that it keeps upward pressure on inflation.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 59.95 points to 5,070.55. The Dow gained 263.71 to 38,503.69, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 245.33 to 15,696.64.

 

[bigdog]

ASX Holiday today for Anzac Day. Lest We Forget

Stock market today: Tesla cruises higher as most of Wall Street drifts in mixed trading

U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish. The S&P 500 closed little changed Wednesday after a two-day winning streak erased nearly two-thirds of last week’s steep loss.

apnews.com

Tesla cruises higher as most of Wall Street drifts in mixed trading​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:23 AM GMT+10, April 25, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish Wednesday as Wall Street’s momentum eased following some sharp swerves.

The S&P 500 was virtually flat and edged up by 1.08, or less than 0.1%, to 5,071.63. It had jumped sharply in the first two days of the week to claw back nearly two-thirds of last week’s steep loss.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 42.77, or 0.1%, to 38,460.92, and the Nasdaq composite added 16.11, or 0.1%, to 15,712.75.

Tesla jumped 12.1% after saying the night before that it would accelerate production of new, more affordable vehicles, which investors have been hoping will kickstart growth. The announcement helped investors look past the 55% drop in profit that Tesla reported.

Tesla is the first of the group of stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven” to report its results for the start of 2024. The focus is on the small group of stocks because they drove most of the U.S. stock market’s gain last year, and they’ll need to perform to justify their high prices.

Meta Platforms also reported its latest results after trading ended Wednesday. Alphabet and Microsoft will follow it a day later.

The hope is that profit growth will broaden beyond the Magnificent Seven to more types of companies, in large part because a remarkably solid U.S. economy. They’ll likely need to deliver fatter profits if they want their stock prices to rise. That’s because they’re unlikely to get much help from the other lever that can lift stock prices: interest rates.

“A strong earnings season looks likely to help restore market confidence,” according to Solita Marcelli, chief investment officer Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Treasury yields were higher in the bond market, raising the pressure on stocks, following the latest report on the U.S. economy to come in hotter than forecast. A string of recent such reports has diminished hopes that the Federal Reserve may deliver the three cuts to interest rates this year that it had earlier signaled.

Wednesday’s report said that orders for machinery, airplanes and other long-lasting manufactured goods were stronger last month than expected. Wall Street is in an awkward place where it wants the economy to avoid a painful recession, but not to be so hot that it keeps upward pressure on inflation and convinces the Fed not to cut rates.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.64% from 4.60% late Tuesday.

On Wall Street, railroad operator Norfolk Southern fell 3.6% after reporting weaker results for the latest quarter than forecast.

Boeing lost 2.9% despite reporting results that weren’t as bad as analysts feared. The company, which is battling criticism about the safety of its airplanes, said it’s taking steps to improve its manufacturing quality, which has slowed down production.

Teledyne Technologies tumbled 10.9% for one of the market’s largest losses after the seller of digital imaging sensors, cameras and other equipment reported weaker profit and revenue than forecast. It said demand from the industrial automation as well as test and measurement markets was weaker than it expected.

On the winning side of the market, Hasbro jumped 11.9% after the toy and game company reported better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It benefited from growth delivered by its Baldur Gate 3 and Magic: The Gathering games, as well as by its Peppa Pig content.

Texas Instruments climbed 5.6% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than forecast. Boston Scientific was another one of the stronger forces pushing upward on the S&P 500. It rose 5.7% after topping forecasts for profit and revenue.

In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.4% as the value of the Japanese yen keeps falling against the U.S. dollar. The yen has been trading at its lowest level in 34 years, which gives a boost to Japanese exporters but also raises speculation about whether Japanese officials will make moves to strengthen their currency.

Stock indexes rose across much of the rest of Asia but dipped modestly in Europe.

Market Watch​

 

[bigdog]

Stock market today: Asian benchmarks mostly climb despite worries about US economy

Asian shares are mostly higher despite worries about the economic outlook and inflation in the U.S. and globally.

apnews.com

Wall Street falls on double dose of disappointing economic data, as Meta sinks​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:18 AM GMT+10, April 26, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — Worries about a potentially toxic cocktail combining stubbornly high inflation with a flagging economy dragged U.S. stocks lower on Thursday. A sharp drop for Facebook’s parent company, one of Wall Street’s most influential stocks, also hurt the market.

The S&P 500 fell 0.5% and sliced some of the gain off what had been a big winning week. It looked to be heading for a much worse loss in the morning, when it tumbled as much as 1.6%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 375 points, or 1%, after earlier falling 700 points. The Nasdaq composite sank 0.6%.

Meta Platforms, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, dropped 10.6% even though it reported better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Investors focused instead on the big investments in artificial intelligence Meta pledged to make. AI has created a frenzy on Wall Street, but Meta is increasing its spending when it also gave a forecasted range for upcoming revenue whose midpoint fell below analysts’ expectations.

Expectations had built high for Meta, along with the other “Magnificent Seven” stocks that drove most of the stock market’s returns last year. They need to hit a high bar to justify their high stock prices.

The entire U.S. stock market felt the pressure of another rise in Treasury yields following disappointing data on the U.S. economy. The report undercut a central hope that’s sent the S&P 500 to record after record this year: The economy can avoid a deep recession and support strong profits for companies, even if high inflation takes a while to get fully under control.

That’s what Wall Street calls a “soft landing” scenario, and expectations had grown recently for a “no landing” where the economy avoids a recession completely.

But Thursday’s report said the U.S. economy’s growth slowed to a 1.6% annual rate during the first three months of this year from 3.4% at the end of 2023.

That was weaker than expected and would have been disappointing by itself. Making it worse for financial markets, the report also said inflation was hotter during the three months than economists forecast. That could tie the hands of the Federal Reserve, which typically juices sluggish economies by cutting interest rates.

Thursday’s economic data will likely get revised a couple times as the U.S. government fine-tunes the numbers. But the lower-than-expected growth and higher-than-expected inflation is “a bit of a slap in the face to those hoping for a ‘no landing’ scenario,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.

“Things can change a lot from one quarter to the next, so it’s too early to say the Fed has failed, but this doesn’t help their cause.”

Underneath the surface, the economic report may not have been as bad as initially thought. Much of the slowdown was due to a rise in imports and other factors that can swing sharply and quickly. The main engine of the economy, spending by U.S. households, remained relatively solid.

That helped blunt the worry caused by the report, helping markets to pare their morning losses, but it did not erase the threat.

Treasury yields still climbed as traders pared bets for cuts to rates this year by the Federal Reserve.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.70% from 4.66% just before the report and from 4.65% late Wednesday.

Traders are largely betting on the possibility of just one or maybe two cuts to interest rates this year by the Fed, if any, according to data from CME Group. They came into the year forecasting six or more. A string of reports this year showing inflation remaining hotter than forecast has crushed those expectations.

Top Fed officials have said they could hold its main interest rate for a while at its highest level since 2001. High rates slow the overall economy and hurt prices for investments, while cuts could help inflation reaccelerate.

That puts more pressure on companies to deliver bigger profits.

Southwest Airlines fell 7% after the carrier reported worse results for the first quarter than analysts expected. CEO Robert Jordan said the airline was limiting hiring and making other moves “to address our financial underperformance” and cope with delayed deliveries of new planes from Boeing.

Textron tumbled 9.7% after the maker of Bell helicopters and Cessna jets reported weaker profit and revenue than forecast. Caterpillar sank 7% despite reporting stronger profit than expected. Its revenue for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations.

On the winning side was Chipotle Mexican Grill, which rose 6.3% after reporting stronger profit and revenue than analysts expected. It said its braised beef barbacoa and chicken al pastor generated more sales.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 23.21 points to 5,048.42. The Dow dropped 375.12 to 38,085.80, and the Nasdaq composite sank 100.99 to 15,611.76.

In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 2.2% as investors wait to hear whether the Bank of Japan will make moves to prop up the tumbling value of the yen. Indexes were mixed elsewhere in Asia and Europe.

ASX 200 expected to sink​

The Australian share market looks set to end the week in the red following a poor night on Wall Street.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 26 points or 0.3% lower this morning.

Worries about a potentially toxic cocktail combining stubbornly high inflation with a flagging economy dragged U.S. stocks lower on Thursday. A sharp drop for Facebook’s parent company, one of Wall Street’s most influential stocks, also hurt the market.

The S&P 500 fell 0.5% and sliced some of the gain off what had been a big winning week. It looked to be heading for a much worse loss in the morning, when it tumbled as much as 1.6%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 375 points, or 1%, after earlier falling 700 points. The Nasdaq composite sank 0.6%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 23.21 points to 5,048.42. The Dow dropped 375.12 to 38,085.80, and the Nasdaq composite sank 100.99 to 15,611.76.

 

[UMike]

"According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 26 points or 0.3% lower this morning."

Was never going to happen. Esp with BHP set for a 4% fall,

 

[bigdog]

At 11:08 AM today

 

[divs4ever]

slightly different to the actual indexes

 

[divs4ever]

was down ( for the XJO ) more than 100 points earlier this morning

 

[bigdog]

Stock market today: Alphabet and Microsoft help Wall Street clinch its best week in nearly 6 months

Alphabet and Microsoft led the U.S. stock market to its first winning week in the last four and its biggest weekly gain since November. The S&P 500 rose 1% Friday.

apnews.com

Alphabet and Microsoft help Wall Street clinch its best week in nearly 6 months​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:08 AM GMT+10, April 27, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — The best week for U.S. stocks since November closed out with more gains thanks to Alphabet and Microsoft on Friday.

The S&P 500 rallied 1% to finish its first winning week in the last four. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 153 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 2%.

Alphabet leaped 10.2% after breezing past analysts’ expectations for profit last quarter. The parent company of Google also said it will start paying a dividend to investors and authorized a program to buy back up to $70 billion of its stock, a signal of how much cash it’s generating.

Microsoft, meanwhile, climbed 1.8% after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected. It cited strong growth in its cloud-computing business as it pushes artificial-intelligence technology to its customers.

They helped offset a 9.2% drop for Intel. It reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected, but its revenue fell short of analysts’ estimates. So did its forecast for profit in the current quarter.

Stocks have broadly been under pressure this month after hopes withered for multiple cuts to interest rates this year by the Federal Reserve. A series of reports this year showing inflation remaining worse than forecast has traders expecting maybe one cut this year, down from forecasts for six or more at the start of the year.

Yet another report on Friday showed inflation remaining stubbornly high. This time it was the measure of prices for March that the Federal Reserve prefers to use, but it wasn’t much worse than forecasts. Financial markets took it much more in stride than a report from the day before that suggested the same measure of inflation rose quickly from January through March.

Treasury yields largely eased in the bond market following Friday morning’s report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.66% from 4.71% late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, held steadier. It edged down to 4.99% from 5.00%.

While inflation has remained hotter than forecast, EY Chief Economist Gregory Daco expects it to cool in coming months as shoppers pressured in part by slowing growth in wages tamp down their purchases, which is the fuel that gives inflation energy.

“Consumers remain willing to spend, but not on anything, nor at any price,” he said.

Economists also said the weaker-than-expected reading on the overall U.S. economy from Thursday, which helped send stocks sliding, may not be as bad as it seemed on the surface.

“The economy remains on solid footing,” Bank of America economists said in a report, pointing to solid buying trends from U.S. customers. Such an interpretation calms worries that the U.S. economy could be heading for a toxic mix of stagnating growth and high inflation, something that the Federal Reserve doesn’t have great tools to fix.

Still, the higher-than-expected inflation readings will likely keep the Fed on hold at its next policy meeting on Wednesday. Its main interest rate has been sitting at the highest level since 2001 in hopes of undercutting inflation by putting downward pressure on the economy and financial markets.

After earlier indicating that three cuts to interest rates could be on the way this year, top Fed officials have since said they could hold its main interest rate high for a while to ensure inflation heads down toward their 2% target.

Friday’s report on sticky inflation “underscores Vanguard’s belief that the Federal Reserve may find it’s unable to cut interest rates this year,” according to the investment giant’s global head of portfolio construction, Roger Aliaga-Diaz.

If interest rates stay high, companies will need to produce stronger profits for their stock prices to rise. So far this reporting season, the trend has been better than expected.

Roughly three out of four companies have been topping analysts’ forecasts for profit, according to FactSet. That includes ResMed, which reported healthier profit and revenue than expected late Thursday. Its stock jumped 18.9% for Friday’s biggest gain in the S&P 500.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 51.54 points to 5,099.96. The Dow added 153.86 to 38,239.66, and the Nasdaq gained 316.14 to 15,927.90.

In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% after the Bank of Japan ended a policy meeting with no major changes to interest rates. Indexes also rose across much of the rest of Asia and Europe.

The following annual comparison chart now includes the Australian S&P/ASX 200

12 MONTH CHART: Dow Jones, NASDAQ Composite, S&P 500 & Aust S&P/ASX 200

 

[noirua]

Earnings spotlight: Monday, April 29 - NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), ON Semiconductor (ON), MicroStrategy (MSTR), Domino's Pizza (DPZ), Chegg (CHGG), and Medifast (MED).

Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, April 30 - Amazon (AMZN), Eli Lilly (LLY), Coca-Cola (KO), AMD (AMD), McDonald's (MCD), Starbucks (SBUX), PayPal (PYPL), Caesars Entertainment (CZR), Mondelez International (MDLZ), Super Micro Computer (SMCI), and Lemonade (LMND).

Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, May 1 - CVS Health (CVS), Qualcomm (QCOM), Pfizer (PFE), Kraft Heinz (KHC), Mastercard (MA), Marriott International (MAR), DoorDash (DASH), MetLife (MET), MGM Resorts (MGM), eBay (EBAY), and DuPont (DD).

Earnings spotlight: Thursday, May 2 - Apple (AAPL), Shell (SHEL), CononoPhillips (COP), Amgen (AMGN), Booking Holdings (BKNG), and Fortinet (FTNT).

Earnings spotlight: Friday, May 3 - Hershey (HSY), Cheniere Energy (LNG), and Magna International (MGA).

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4687103-wall-street-breakfast-week-ahead?mailingid=35187646&messageid=wall_street_breakfast&serial=35187646.643283&utm_source=seeking_alpha

 

[bigdog]

ASX 200 expected to rebound​

The Australian share market looks set to rebound on Monday following a strong night on Wall Street on Friday.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 24 points or 0.3% higher.

The best week for U.S. stocks since November closed out with more gains thanks to Alphabet and Microsoft on Friday.


The S&P 500 rallied 1% to finish its first winning week in the last four. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 153 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 2%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 51.54 points to 5,099.96. The Dow added 153.86 to 38,239.66, and the Nasdaq gained 316.14 to 15,927.90.


Market Watch

 

[bigdog]

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly rise to start a week full of earnings, Fed meeting

Asian shares are trading mostly higher as investors kept their eyes on potentially market-moving reports expected later this week.

apnews.com

Wall Street rises to start a week full of earnings reports and a Fed meeting​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:04 AM GMT+10, April 30, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks ticked higher Monday to begin a week packed with potentially market-moving reports.

The S&P 500 rose 16.21 points, or 0.3%, to 5,116.17, coming off its best week since November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 146.43, or 0.4%, to 38,386.09, and the Nasdaq composite gained 55.18, or 0.3%, to 15,983.08.

This week will see about a third of all the companies in the S&P 500 reporting how much profit they made during the first three months of the year. That includes such heavyweights as Amazon and Apple. So far reports have largely been better than expected, with roughly half the S&P 500’s reports in, highlighted last week by Alphabet, Microsoft and others.

Domino’s Pizza added to the pile Monday, reporting stronger-than-expected results thanks to a second straight quarter of rising orders for deliveries and carryout. Its stock steamed 5.6% higher.

Stocks are off to a promising start. The AP’s Seth Sutel reports.

Tesla was also a big force pushing upward on the market and jumped 15.3%. Its CEO, Elon Musk, met with a high-ranking Chinese official as it tries to rev up sales in the world’s largest automobile market.

On the losing end was SoFi Technologies, which fell 10.5%. The financial services company reported better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but its forecast for net income in the current quarter fell short.

Solid earnings reports last week helped the S&P 500 rally to its first winning week in four. The companies in the index look to be on track to report a third straight quarter of growth in earnings per share, according to FactSet.

The stock market will need such strength to steady it following a shaky April. The S&P 500 fell as much as 5.5% during the month as signals of stubbornly high inflation forced traders to ratchet back expectations for when the Federal Reserve could begin easing interest rates.

After coming into the year forecasting six or more cuts to rates during 2024, traders are now placing many bets on just one, according to data from CME Group.

When the Federal Reserve announces its latest policy decision on Wednesday, no one expects it to move its main interest rate, which is sitting at its highest level since 2001. Instead, the hope is that the central bank could offer some clues about when the first cut to rates could come.

This week’s Fed meeting won’t include the publication of forecasts by Fed officials about where they see rates heading in upcoming years. The last such set of forecasts, released in March, showed the typical Fed official at the time was penciling in three cuts for 2024.

But Fed Chair Jerome Powell could offer more color in his press conference following the central bank’s decision. He suggested earlier this month that rates may stay high for longer because the Fed is waiting for more evidence that inflation is heading sustainably down toward its 2% target.

A report hitting Wall Street on Friday could shift policy makers’ outlook even more. Economists expect Friday’s jobs report to show that hiring by U.S. employers cooled in April and that growth in workers’ wages held relatively steady.

The hope on Wall Street is that the job market will remain strong enough to help the economy avoid a recession but not so strong that it feeds upward pressure into inflation.

Because inflation has been hotter than forecast and because the economy has remained so resilient, economists at BNP Paribas recently pushed out their forecast for the Fed’s first rate cut.

They had been forecasting a July move, but they said punting to September may prove to be uncomfortably close to the U.S. presidential election in November. So they’re now calling for the Fed to make its first cut in December.

Skipping September would not only help the Fed avoid looking like it’s trying to affect the election’s outcome, it would also give the Fed the chance to see if the election results in significant changes to policy that affect where the economy and inflation are heading, according to the BNP Paribas team, led by Andy Schneider.

“Even if the economy evolves so as to justify a cut by September, we think these risks likely outweigh whatever marginal economic benefits might come from” cutting just ahead of the election, they said.

In markets abroad, Japan’s stock market was closed for a holiday. But the Japanese yen continued to swing sharply after falling back to where it was against the U.S. dollar in 1990.

In other markets, stock indexes rose across much of Asia while remaining mixed in Europe.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.61% from 4.67% late Friday.

ASX 200 expected to rise​

The Australian share market is expected to rise again on Tuesday following a decent start to the week on Wall Street.

Wall Street rises to start a week full of earnings reports and a Fed meeting

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 12 points or 0.15% higher.

U.S. stocks ticked higher Monday to begin a week packed with potentially market-moving reports.

The S&P 500 rose 16.21 points, or 0.3%, to 5,116.17, coming off its best week since November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 146.43, or 0.4%, to 38,386.09, and the Nasdaq composite gained 55.18, or 0.3%, to 15,983.08.