Last Updated 4:05 PM EST
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Stock indices finished today’s trading session in the red after Jerome Powell testified. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) fell 1.72%, 1.53%, and 1.22%, respectively.
Furthermore, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield increased to 3.97%, while the Two-Year Treasury yield also increased to around 5.02%. This is the widest spread between the two yields since September 1981.
The Atlanta Federal Reserve updated its latest GDPNow reading, which allows it to estimate GDP growth in real time. The “nowcast” becomes more accurate as more economic data is released throughout the quarter. Currently, it estimates that the economy will expand by about 2% in the first quarter.
This is lower than its previous estimate of 2.3%, which can be attributed to recent releases from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Institute for Supply Management.
Nevertheless, inflation continues to be a problem around the world. Therefore, it’ll be interesting to see what the actual GDP growth will be and how it’ll change going forward as higher rates start to impact the economy.
Last Updated: 2:30PM EST
The stock market selloff accelerates as we head into the final 90 minutes of today’s trading session. Investors were not happy to hear what Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had to say and reacted accordingly. As of 2:30 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) are down 1.6%, 1.5%, and 1.1%, respectively.
Last Updated: 12:54PM EST
Stocks continue to fall in today’s trading session following the remarks from Jerome Powell. As of 12:54 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) are down 1.1%, 0.9%, and 0.4%, respectively.
In addition, WTI crude oil is also lower today, as it hovers around the high-$77 per barrel range. Nevertheless, the commodity’s recent uptrend has caused prices at the pump to increase when compared to last week.
Indeed, the national average for regular gas was last $3.417 per gallon, up from last week’s reading of $3.357. 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 California, where prices are substantially higher than the national average, at $4.912 per gallon. On the other hand, Mississippi is the state with the lowest gas prices, at $2.962 per gallon.
It’ll be interesting to see if this upward 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: 10:25AM EST
Stocks fall after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech. As of 10:25 a.m. EST, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are down 0.6%, 0.6%, and 0.4%, respectively.
Last updated: 9:30AM EST
U.S. stock indices opened close to the flatline Tuesday as the market awaits Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s latest comments on the economy and monetary policy.
The Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were all negative to flat, at 9:30 a.m. EST, March 7.
Ahead of Fed chair Powell’s comments, major indices closed slightly in the green on Monday. Powell is scheduled to give testimony about the state of the U.S. economy before Congress today and tomorrow. This will help investors gain fresh insights into the central bank’s monetary policy and its stance with regard to taming stubbornly high inflation. Investors continue to be concerned about the possibility of higher-than-expected interest rate hikes pushing the economy into a recession.
Coming to economic releases, the January wholesale inventories data is set to release on Tuesday, with experts projecting a month-over-month decline of 0.4%. U.S. wholesale inventories increased 0.1% in December, indicating that enterprises were cautious about placing new orders due to muted sales as macro pressures curbed demand.
Further, consumer credit data is expected today and is estimated to show an increase of $22 billion in January, compared to a rise of $11.6 billion in the previous month. The amount of credit used by households helps in gauging the strength of the economy. Consumers generally borrow more when times are good and reduce spending when the economy is weak.
One of the key economic releases this week is the monthly jobs report, scheduled to be released on Friday. Economists estimate the February jobs report to disclose a major slowdown in new jobs compared to January’s stellar 517,000 job additions.
Meanwhile, European indices were muted today, as markets await the Fed’s latest commentary.
Asia-Pacific Markets End Mixed
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Tuesday. Weak China trade data impacted the country’s key indices. China’s exports and imports declined in the first two months of the year, indicating a slowdown in the global economy and weak demand. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.33%, while China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices were down 1.11% and 1.98%, respectively.
On the other hand, Japan’s indices continued to rise. The Nikkei edged higher by 0.25%, while Topix ended the day up 0.42%.
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