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Wall Street ended mixed on Thursday, driven by economic data and inflation concerns, sparking speculation that the Federal Reserve could delay interest rate cut. Market participants were assessing strong earnings results. The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 ended in negative territory, while the Dow finished in positive zone.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.1% or 23.87 points to close at 37,777.18. Notably, 15 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 15 finished in negative zone.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 82.35 points or 0.5% to close at 15,601.02.
The S&P 500 slid 0.2% or 12.02 points to end at 5,010.19. Of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark, seven ended in positive territory, while four ended in the red zone. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) and the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) fell 1.1%, 0.7%, 0.3% and 0.3%, respectively, while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) advanced 0.6%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 1.2% to 18.00. A total of 10.54 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 10.99 billion. The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and 95 new 52-week lows. The Nasdaq Composite registered 24 new 52-week highs and 238 new 52-week lows.
Strong Labor Market Fuels Fed Rate Speculation
Amid a strong U.S. jobs market and concerns over inflation, speculation is rife among investors that the Federal Reserve might wait until September before making any changes to interest rates.
The latest report from the Labor Department reveals that jobless claims remained steady at 212,000 for the week ending Apr 13, unchanged from the revised figure of the previous week. The four-week moving average also held steady at 214,500, matching the revised average from the previous period.
Continuing claims saw a slight increase of 2,000 to 1,812,000 compared to the revised level of the previous week. The four-week moving average for continuing claims rose by 4,250 to 1,805,250, reflecting a slight uptick.
Since March 2022, the Federal Reserve has kept its policy rate between 5.25% to 5.50% during this period. In the two years, there have been a series of interest rate increases totaling 525 basis points by the Fed.
New York Fed President John Williams mentioned on Thursday that he doesn't see a need to lower interest rates. His stance aligns with bank officials, who are cautious about adjusting monetary policy timing.
Strong Earnings
Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $0.99 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.85 per share. This industrial solutions provider generated total revenues of $196.28 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.34%.
Genuine Parts Company (GPC - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $2.22 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.15 per share. This automotive retailer generated total net sales of $5.78 billion, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.84 billion.
D.R. Horton, Inc. (DHI - Free Report) reported fiscal second-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $3.52 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.08 per share. This homebuilding company generated total revenues of $9.12 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.27 billion.
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales for March totaled 4.19 million units. The number for February was reported at a total of 4.38 million units.
The Conference Board reported that the Leading Economic Index decreased by 0.3% in March to a reading of 102.4, following a 0.2% increase in February.
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Stock Market News for Apr 19, 2024
Market News
Wall Street ended mixed on Thursday, driven by economic data and inflation concerns, sparking speculation that the Federal Reserve could delay interest rate cut. Market participants were assessing strong earnings results. The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 ended in negative territory, while the Dow finished in positive zone.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.1% or 23.87 points to close at 37,777.18. Notably, 15 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 15 finished in negative zone.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 82.35 points or 0.5% to close at 15,601.02.
The S&P 500 slid 0.2% or 12.02 points to end at 5,010.19. Of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark, seven ended in positive territory, while four ended in the red zone. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) and the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) fell 1.1%, 0.7%, 0.3% and 0.3%, respectively, while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) advanced 0.6%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 1.2% to 18.00. A total of 10.54 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 10.99 billion. The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and 95 new 52-week lows. The Nasdaq Composite registered 24 new 52-week highs and 238 new 52-week lows.
Strong Labor Market Fuels Fed Rate Speculation
Amid a strong U.S. jobs market and concerns over inflation, speculation is rife among investors that the Federal Reserve might wait until September before making any changes to interest rates.
The latest report from the Labor Department reveals that jobless claims remained steady at 212,000 for the week ending Apr 13, unchanged from the revised figure of the previous week. The four-week moving average also held steady at 214,500, matching the revised average from the previous period.
Continuing claims saw a slight increase of 2,000 to 1,812,000 compared to the revised level of the previous week. The four-week moving average for continuing claims rose by 4,250 to 1,805,250, reflecting a slight uptick.
Since March 2022, the Federal Reserve has kept its policy rate between 5.25% to 5.50% during this period. In the two years, there have been a series of interest rate increases totaling 525 basis points by the Fed.
New York Fed President John Williams mentioned on Thursday that he doesn't see a need to lower interest rates. His stance aligns with bank officials, who are cautious about adjusting monetary policy timing.
Strong Earnings
Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $0.99 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.85 per share. This industrial solutions provider generated total revenues of $196.28 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.34%.
Genuine Parts Company (GPC - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $2.22 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.15 per share. This automotive retailer generated total net sales of $5.78 billion, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.84 billion.
D.R. Horton, Inc. (DHI - Free Report) reported fiscal second-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $3.52 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.08 per share. This homebuilding company generated total revenues of $9.12 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.27 billion.
Consequently, shares of Badger Meter, Genuine Parts Company, D.R. Horton returned 16.7%,11.2%, and 0.1%, respectively. D.R. Horton currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Economic Data
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales for March totaled 4.19 million units. The number for February was reported at a total of 4.38 million units.
The Conference Board reported that the Leading Economic Index decreased by 0.3% in March to a reading of 102.4, following a 0.2% increase in February.