Major U.S. stock indexes were higher in early-afternoon trading Wednesday, adding to the previous session’s big gains, as investors await key economic data and earnings releases in the coming days.
The S&P 500 was up 0.6% and trading at record high levels, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5%. Major indexes closed sharply higher on Tuesday, rebounding from a steep selloff to start the week, as technology stocks surged and oil prices plunged.
Large-cap tech stocks were mixed on Wednesday. Nvidia (NVDA), which has surged recently amid continued investor optimism about strong demand for the AI chipmaker’s products, was flat in recent trading. Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) were rising, while Meta Platforms (META) and Alphabet (GOOGL) lost ground.
Boeing (BA) shares were down more than 2%, leading Dow decliners, after talks between the company and the union representing striking workers broke down.
Investors are preparing for the start of earnings reporting season, which kicks into high gear Friday when several large banks will release their quarterly results. Telsa’s (TSLA) robotaxi event will also attract significant interest on Thursday, but today’s corporate news calendar is quiet.
The economic data calendar is also light on Wednesday but picks up significantly in the coming days with the release of closely watched inflation data, weekly jobless claims and the latest reading on consumer sentiment. Investors will be monitoring comments from a slew of Federal Reserve officials who are scheduled to speak today. The minutes from the Fed’s last policy meeting are also scheduled for release Wednesday.
Market participants are keeping close tabs on the data points and remarks from Fed officials as they seek further confirmation that the economy is on sound footing, while also looking for clues about how aggressive the central bank will be as it cuts interest rates. The Fed cut its benchmark lending rate last month for the first time in four years and indicated that more cuts are coming, though the pace and depth of those cuts depends on incoming economic data.
The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which is sensitive to expectations around where rates are headed, was up slightly at around 4.05%. The yield jumped above 4% on Monday for the first time in two months as market participants scaled back their expectations for big rate cuts in the coming months, after last week’s stronger-than-expected jobs report.
Crude oil futures were down about 0.5%, after falling more than 4% on Tuesday, as concerns about the potential impact of conflict in the Middle East on oil supplies have moderated, at least temporarily.
Gold futures were down slightly at around $2,630 an ounce, while bitcoin was also down slightly at around $62,000.
Boeing Leads Dow Decliners as Machinists’ Strike Continues
1 hr 16 min ago
Boeing (BA) shares fell Wednesday after the plane maker withdrew its contract offer for its striking machinists and S&P Global put its bond rating on a watch list.
In a note to employees, Stephanie Pope—who serves as both Boeing COO and Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO—wrote the company’s leadership team “has been doing all we can to find common ground with the union.” However, after a third round of negotiations with a federal mediator, “the union did not seriously consider our proposals,” and instead made “non-negotiable demands” that the company could not meet.
Because of this, Pope said, “further negotiations do not make sense at this point and our offer has been withdrawn.”
The 33,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers walked off the job last month after the rank and file voted to reject a contract agreement hammered out days earlier.
S&P Global warned the strike was “increasing financial risk for the company,” and estimated Boeing will have a $10 billion cash outflow this year as a result. The agency put its ratings on Boeing’s debt on “CreditWatch with negative implications.” S&P explained that reflects “the increased likelihood of a downgrade if the strike persists toward the end of the year.”
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Boeing shares recently were down 2.4%, trading near their lowest level in two years.
What’s Next for Chinese Stocks After Stimulus Rally Stumbles?
2 hr 48 min ago
U.S.-traded Chinese stocks tumbled on Tuesday and fell again in early trading Wednesday after a disappointing update from the government tempered exuberance that propelled Chinese equities out of a bear market in recent weeks.
The country’s economic planning agency said Tuesday it would accelerate some planned investments meant to help the country meet its 2024 growth goals but abstained from outlining new stimulus measures. Late last month, the Chinese government announced a spate of monetary stimulus measures including lowering banks’ reserve requirements, cutting interest rates, and supporting equity markets.
Most experts agree that sustainably turning around China’s flagging stock market will require doing more to support the real economy.
“So far, the approach is more directly beneficial for Chinese equities than for real growth and commodity demand,” wrote V22 Research analysts Michael Hirson and Houze Song in a note on Saturday. The government, they said, will need to unveil more robust measures to boost consumer spending and support the property sector for the wider economic outlook to improve.
Read the full article here.
Palantir Price Levels to Watch as Stock Hits Record High
4 hr 45 min ago
Palantir Technologies (PLTR) jumped more than 6% Tuesday to a record high following bullish commentary from Ark Invest, which pointed out that the analytics software provider could have further potential upside from the AI boom.
The stock was up 0.5% at $41.66 in recent premarket trading Wednesday.
After breaking out above an ascending triangle in early July, the stock has continued to trend higher apart from a brief early-August correction, with gains accelerating last month after the software vendor’s inclusion into the S&P 500 index.
During retracements, investors should watch important support levels on Palantir’s chart around $32.70, $29, and $25.50.
A bars pattern, which extracts Palantir’s trend higher from May to August last year and positions it from the early-August low, forecasts a potential bullish price target in the stock of around $55.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Major Indexes Poised to Open Slightly Lower
5 hr 6 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down less than 0.1%.
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S&P 500 futures were down also down less than 0.1%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures were off 0.14%.
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