Last Updated 4:03 PM EST
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Stock indices finished today’s trading session mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the S&P 500 (SPX) fell 0.25% and 0.15%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 (DJIA) saw a slight 0.05% gain.
The real estate sector (XLRE) was the session’s laggard, as it lost 0.93%. Conversely, the basic materials sector (XLB) was the session’s leader, with a gain of 0.71%.
Furthermore, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield decreased to 3.93%. Similarly, the Two-Year Treasury yield also decreased, as it hovers around 4.70%. This brings the spread between them to -77 basis points.
Compared to yesterday, the market is pricing in a higher chance of a higher Fed Funds rate for June 2023. In fact, the market’s expectations for a rate in the range of 5.5% to 5.75% increased to 18.8% compared to yesterday’s expectations of 16.10%.
In addition, the market is now also assigning a 24% probability to a range of 5% to 5.25%. For reference, investors had assigned a 25.5% chance yesterday.
Last Updated: 2:55PM EST
Stocks are in the red heading into the final hour of today’s trading session after the release of the fed meeting minutes. As of 2:55 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Nasdaq 100 (DJIA) are down 0.4%, 0.3%, and 0.2%, respectively.
In addition, WTI crude oil also fell today, as it hovers around the mid-$73 per barrel range. The commodity’s recent downtrend has caused prices at the pump to decline when compared to last week.
Indeed, the national average for regular gas was last $3.397 per gallon, down from last week’s reading of $3.418. This is significantly lower than the all-time high of $5.016 per gallon on June 14, 2022.
The highest prices can be found in Hawaii, where prices are substantially higher than the national average, at $4.874 per gallon. On the other hand, Texas is the state with the lowest gas prices, at $2.98 per gallon.
It’ll be interesting to see if this downward trend will continue going forward as the Federal Reserve looks to raise interest rates to fight inflation while oil producers lower production in order to maintain the price.
Last Updated: 1:50PM EST
Stock indices are in the green heading into the final couple hours of today’s trading. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are up 0.5%, 0.3%, and 0.2%, respectively.
Last Updated: 11:47AM EST
Stock indices are mixed after giving up their earlier gains. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are roughly flat as of 11:47 a.m. EST, Wednesday.
Last Updated: 9:51AM EST
U.S. Stock indices opened today’s trading on a positive note but close to the flatline in anticipation of the minutes from the Fed’s latest FOMC meeting. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are up 0.3%, 0.15%, and 0.15%, respectively, as of 9:50 a.m. EST, Wednesday.
The Fed will release the minutes of the FOMC meeting today. Markets are baking in higher chances of further rate hikes in 2023 and expect inflation to remain at elevated levels. Treasury yields also rose to a record-high level yesterday, as fears of an inevitable recession creep in.
The mortgage applications data released on Wednesday indicated that the composite index was down by 13.3% versus 7.7% a week prior.
Meanwhile, equities are expected to remain under pressure for a prolonged period. A dull forecast from American big box retailers, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD) also added to investor woes. A dimming outlook from Walmart, one of the largest groceries in the U.S., shows that consumers are being conservative now, more than ever, and inflation is pinching their pockets. Moreover, U.S. Existing Home Sales numbers for the month of January came in lower than expected, marking the lowest reading since June 2020.
Traders also await the second estimate for gross domestic product (GDP) figures of the fourth quarter, to be released on February 23, 2023.
Notable companies reporting earnings today include chip maker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), electric vehicle maker Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID), Chinese tech giant Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), and e-commerce website Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY).
European indices also remained under pressure today following their U.S. counterparts. A majority of the indices are trading in the red today on growing concerns about the future course of the Fed’s monetary policy.
Asia-Pacific Markets Drop on Inflation Woes
The Asia-Pacific markets reacted negatively to the news of a 50 basis point rate hike by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. The bank took the interest rate to a 14-year high figure of 4.75% to curb inflation.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, China’s Shanghai Composite, and Shenzhen Component indices closed down 0.51%, 0.47%, and 0.21%, respectively.
Similarly, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix ended the day down 1.34% and 1.11%, respectively. Japan’s producer price index rose 1.6% on an annualized basis, which aggravated investor concerns about the stubbornly high inflation.
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