Stock Market News Today – Indices Finish Higher after Rallying into the Close

Last Updated 4:00 PM EST

Stock indices finished today’s trading session in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) gained 0.3%, 0.33%, and 0.06%, respectively.

The energy sector (XLE) was the session’s laggard, as it fell 1.18%. Conversely, the real estate sector (XLRE) was the session’s leader, with a gain of 2.24%.

Furthermore, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield increased to 3.6%. The Two-Year Treasury yield also increased, as it hovers around 4.2%. This brings the spread between them to -60 basis points.

Compared to Friday, 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 4.75% to 5% decreased to 10.1% compared to Friday’s expectations of 17.4%.

In addition, the market is now also assigning a 23.4% probability to a range of 5.25% to 5.5%. For reference, investors had assigned a 16.6% chance Friday.

Last updated: 3:28PM EST

Stocks are mixed as we approach the final 30 minutes of today’s trading session. As of 3:28 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the S&P 500 (SPX) are up 0.2%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) is down 0.1%.

Last updated: 12:30PM EST

Indices are down so far in today’s trading session. On Monday, the National Association of Home Builders released its U.S. NAHB Housing Market Index for March. The report measures home builder sentiment by surveying around 900 companies. A reading above 50 indicates that more home builders have a positive view of market conditions than a negative one.

The bad news is that today’s number came in at 45, meaning that most have a negative view of the market. However, the good news is that this print is higher than the 44 that was expected and one point higher than last month’s reading. Indeed, sentiment has now increased for four consecutive months after decreasing every month in 2022.

According to NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey, the main driver behind this jump in sentiment can be attributed to “a lack of resale inventory despite elevated interest rates.” In addition, the decline in mortgage rates will create further demand for housing.

Last updated: 9:41AM EST

Stocks were mixed at open to start the week as the earnings season kicked off and investors await more earnings reports. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX) was all up by 0.2%, while the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up 0.06% each, respectively, at 9:41 a.m. EST, April 17.

First published: 6:21AM EST

U.S. futures are trending higher on Monday morning, continuing the positive sentiment of last week’s winning streak from major market indices. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are up 0.08%, 0.12%, and 0.06%, respectively, at 5:00 a.m. EST, April 17.

The Federal Reserve will make its key interest rate decision in May, where traders are expecting a 25 basis point rate hike followed by a long pause. Last week’s data on initial jobless claims showed an increase in the figure, signaling that unemployment is creeping in slowly in the U.S. across sectors. Further, last week’s retail sales data also showed a 1% month-over-month decline, indicating that consumers are reducing their monthly expenditures. Officials are closely watching the employment-related data to see how much of an impact the previous interest rate hikes have made. Also, several Federal Reserve speakers are slated to share their views this week on monetary policy and future rate hike expectations.

Bank Earnings Season Kicks Off With Positivity

Big Banks, namely JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), both defeated earnings expectations last week and gave positive momentum to the bank’s earnings season. Investors are fretting over banks’ financial performances after the Silicon Valley Bank-led (SVB) banking turmoil.

Customers shifted huge chunks of deposits from regional banks to bigger banks. A few customers are also preferring to hold funds in money market securities that are currently yielding impressive returns compared to banks. As per the Fed data cited by the Wall Street Journal, total deposits at banks in the U.S. declined by $312 billion in March following the SVB collapse, with regional banks being the biggest losers. Importantly, data also shows that banks increased their rates offered on deposits to retain fleeing customers. This also means that mid-sized and smaller banks may report poor earnings.

This is an important earnings week from the point of view of the banking sector, as the majority of big and mid-sized banks will publish their results. Broker-dealer Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) reports today. Tomorrow we will see earnings from Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), and United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL). Also reporting this week are electric vehicle maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM), Blackstone (NYSE:BX), and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG).

The first quarter earnings season will display the demand momentum from the various industries. Although supply-related issues are behind us, companies are now facing a slowdown in demand due to high inflation and fears of an impending recession.  

Meanwhile, European indices are trading higher today as markets brace for the big earnings week by U.S. companies. The earnings season will also reflect the overall health of the American economy and the impact of the recent banking crisis.

Asia-Pacific Markets Mostly Higher

Asia-Pacific indices finished the trading session in the green today, as better-than-expected earnings from big banks cooled off some pressure from investors.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, China’s Shanghai Composite, and the Shenzhen Component Indices ended the trading session up 1.68%, 1.42%, and 0.03%, respectively. China’s gross domestic product (GDP) numbers are due tomorrow, with traders eagerly anticipating positive growth momentum.

At the same time, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices ended the day up by 0.08% and 0.41%, respectively.

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