Stock Market Today – Indices Close in the Green

Last Updated 4:05 PM EST

Stock indices finished today’s trading session in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 gained 1.6%, 1.49%, and 1.48%, respectively.

The materials sector was the session’s laggard, as it gained 0.85%. Conversely, the energy sector was the session’s leader, with a gain of 1.91%.

Furthermore, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield decreased to 3.67%. Similarly, the Two-Year Treasury yield also decreased, as it hovers around 4.21%. This brings the spread between them to -54 basis points.

Compared to yesterday, the market is pricing in a higher chance of a lower Fed Funds rate for June 2023. In fact, the market’s expectations for a rate in the range of 5% to 5.25% decreased to 23.9% compared to yesterday’s expectations of 26.5%.

In addition, the market is now also assigning a 24.7% probability to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%. For reference, investors had assigned a 21% chance yesterday.

Market Rally Continues; Home Sales Decline Again

Last Updated 12:05PM EST

Stock indices are positive halfway into today’s trading session. As of 12:05 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 are up 1.5%, 1.4%, and 1.4%, respectively.

On Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors released its U.S. Existing Home Sales report, which measures the change in sales of existing residential buildings during the previous month on an annualized basis. Existing home sales came in at 4.09 million for the month of November, below the expected 4.2 million.

This figure was the lowest reading since June 2020, as existing home sales declined month-over-month by 7.7%, accelerating from the 5.9% decline in October. Indeed, this represents the tenth straight month of declines, as higher interest rates continue to make homeownership difficult. On a year-over-year basis, sales fell 36.9%.

It is likely that this downward trend will continue as the Federal Reserve continues to hike interest rates to combat inflation.

Markets Open in the Green Boosted by Upbeat Earnings Reports

Last updated: 9:36AM EST

Markets opened in the green on Wednesday as investors remained optimistic following upbeat earnings reports, even in the face of a possible recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.9%, while the S&P 500 (SPX) went up 0.1% as of 9.36 a.m. EST, Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) advanced 0.4%.

First published: 7:23AM EST

Stock futures moved up early on Wednesday, as investors cheered strong earnings reports from Nike (NYSE:NKE) and FedEx (NYSE:FDX).

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.70%, while those on the S&P 500 (SPX) jumped 0.46%, as of 7.05 a.m. a.m. EST, Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) futures advanced 0.24%.

After the market closed on Tuesday, Nike’s second quarter fiscal 2023 report revealed handy earnings and revenue beats. The stock was up more than 12% in the pre-market trading session of Wednesday.

Meanwhile, FedEx also gained almost 5% after beating consensus earnings estimates, despite a miss on revenue expectations.

At the end of the regular trading session Tuesday, the S&P 500 and the Dow were up 0.1% and 0.28%, respectively. Nonetheless, the Nasdaq 100 lost 0.11% by the end of the day.

The widening of the cap on the 10-year Japanese government bond yield led to a spike in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield on Tuesday.

The market has been resilient so far and a Santa Claus rally might be in the cards, although not a sharp one.

The Federal Reserve is not likely to come up with any major updates in the next few weeks, which means investors will focus on upcoming earnings and economic data.

RiteAid (NYSE:RAD) and Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) will report before the market opens Wednesday, whereas Micron (NASDAQ:MU) will report after the bell.

The week is likely to remain relatively slow ahead of Christmas.

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