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Stocks Post Modest Gains Ahead of Fed Inflation Report; Microchip Makers Struggle, While Gold and Bitcoin Rebound: What’s Driving Markets Thursday?
Stocks Post Modest Gains Ahead of Fed Inflation Report; Microchip Makers Struggle, While Gold and Bitcoin Rebound: What’s Driving Markets Thursday?
Wall Street had a quiet day of trading Thursday, as traders likely opted to stay on the sidelines ahead of Friday’s release of the federal report. The Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
When it comes to regulation, U.S. banks passed the Federal Reserve’s 2024 stress tests. The results demonstrated that all institutions analyzed could maintain minimum capital requirements even in the face of a severe economic shock. In particular, regional banks, as monitored by the SPDR S&P Regional Bank ETF (NYSE:KRE), performed relatively better overall than their larger counterparts.
By midday in New York, major indexes were posting marginal gains, with small-caps outperforming large-cap indexes.
The semiconductor sector continued to face headwinds, with iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX Act) down 0.7%, for its fifth negative session in the past six years. Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) decreased by almost 2%.
Treasury yields fell, reflecting increased demand for bonds ahead of the key inflation report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell 4 basis points to 4.29%, after rising 8 basis points on Wednesday. iShares 20+ Year Treasury ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) increased by 0.5%.
In the commodities market, falling yields and a slightly weaker dollar spurred rebounds. Gold, followed by SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), gained 1.2%, erasing Wednesday’s losses, while crude edged up 0.7%.
Cryptocurrencies also saw gains, with Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) up 1.3% and Solana (CRYPTO: GROUND) up more than 8% following VanEck’s bankruptcy filing a Solana ETF app.
Thursday performance of major US indices and ETFs
|
Main indices |
Price |
% change over 1 day |
|
Russell 2000 |
2,020.84 |
0.4% |
|
Nasdaq 100 |
19,802.54 |
0.3% |
|
Dow Jones |
39,220.82 |
0.2% |
|
S&P 500 |
5,481.94 |
0.1% |
Updated at 12:51 p.m. ET
According to Benzinga Pro data:
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THE SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:TO SPY) was up 0.1% at $545.95.
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THE SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) was up 0.2% at $391.94.
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Heavy in technology Invesco QQQ Trust (ARCA:QQQ) was up 0.2% at $481.55.
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On the sectoral level, the Consumer Discretionary Goods Selected Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) outperformed, up 0.5%, while the Selected Consumer Staples Sector SPDR Funds (NYSE:XLP) is lagging behind, down 0.5%.
Thursday’s stock market movements
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Salesforce Inc. (NASDAQ:CRM) rose 6%, marking the best performance in the S&P 500.
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Goldman Sachs Inc. (NYSE:GS) fell by 2.3%, in reaction to Fed stress tests.
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Among the regional banks First Foundations Inc. (NYSE:FFWM) And Dime Community Bancshares Inc.. (NASDAQ:DCOM) recorded higher gains, up 5.9% and 4% respectively.
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Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose 2.2% after unveiling a new section on its website focused on budget fashion and lifestyle products, making it easier for Chinese sellers to ship directly to U.S. consumers. Chinese e-commerce platforms PDD Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PDD), JD.com (NASDAQ:J.D.) And Alibaba Holding Group (NASDAQ:BABA) fell by 4%, 3.8% and 1.9% respectively.
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Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ:The WBA) fell 25% in response to the quarterly results.
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Other stocks reacting to corporate earnings were Micron Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), down 6.4%, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:I F), up 6.7%, Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI), down 16.5%, McCormick & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MKC), up 4.6%, Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) up 0.9%, The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL), down 1.7%.
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This item Stocks Post Modest Gains Ahead of Fed Inflation Report; Chipmakers Fight Back, While Gold and Bitcoin Rebound: What’s Driving Markets Thursday? originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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