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U.S. stock ended lower on Wednesday as investors digested minutes of the Federal Reserve’s Apr 30-May 1 policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) that showed several officials are in favor of hiking interest rates if required to curb inflation. All three major indexes closed in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) shed 0.5% or 201.95 points to finish at 39,671.04 points, recording its worst day in May.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3% or 14.40 points, to end at 5,307.01 points. Utilities, materials, consumer discretionary and energy stocks were the worst performers.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) declined 1.2%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) lost 1.9%. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) slipped 1% and the Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) declined 1%. Seven of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.2% or 31.08 points to close at 16,801.54 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 3.63% to 12.29. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 2.75-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.5-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 12.86 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, higher than the last 20-session average of 12.01 billion.
Minutes of FOMC Meeting Raise Concerns
Wall Street retreated from its earlier highs on Wednesday as stocks struggled for direction following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting of the FOMC that showed minimal progress toward lower inflation in the last few months.
The minutes also revealed that “various participants” were in favor of hiking interest rates if deemed to curb inflation which is still a lot higher than the Fed’s 2% target.
This reignited fears that the Federal Reserve may not have ended its monetary tightening campaign yet and is in no rush to cut interest rates. Stocks took a beating following that, with materials, consumer discretionary and utility stocks taking a beating.
Impressive Quarter for NVIDIA
Investors were also looking ahead to quarterly results from chip behemoth NVIDIA Corporation ((NVDA - Free Report) ) on Wednesday. The chipmaker, which has been at the heart of the AI enthusiasm, came up with solid quarterly results.
NVIDIA reported first-quarter 2024 earnings of $6.12 per share, easily surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.49 per share. The company posted revenues of $26.04 billion for the quarter, also beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.02%. However, shares of NVIDIA ended 0.5% lower. NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
However, the minutes of the Fed’ss meeting weighed on investors’ sentiment, taking a toll on the broader market.
Economic Data
In economic data released on Wednesday, existing home sales unexpectedly fell 0.9% to 4.14 million in April, missing expectations of a rise of 1.4% to 4.25 million from 4.19 million in March.
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Stock Market News for May 23, 2024
U.S. stock ended lower on Wednesday as investors digested minutes of the Federal Reserve’s Apr 30-May 1 policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) that showed several officials are in favor of hiking interest rates if required to curb inflation. All three major indexes closed in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) shed 0.5% or 201.95 points to finish at 39,671.04 points, recording its worst day in May.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3% or 14.40 points, to end at 5,307.01 points. Utilities, materials, consumer discretionary and energy stocks were the worst performers.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) declined 1.2%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) lost 1.9%. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) slipped 1% and the Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) declined 1%. Seven of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.2% or 31.08 points to close at 16,801.54 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 3.63% to 12.29. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 2.75-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.5-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 12.86 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, higher than the last 20-session average of 12.01 billion.
Minutes of FOMC Meeting Raise Concerns
Wall Street retreated from its earlier highs on Wednesday as stocks struggled for direction following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting of the FOMC that showed minimal progress toward lower inflation in the last few months.
The minutes also revealed that “various participants” were in favor of hiking interest rates if deemed to curb inflation which is still a lot higher than the Fed’s 2% target.
This reignited fears that the Federal Reserve may not have ended its monetary tightening campaign yet and is in no rush to cut interest rates. Stocks took a beating following that, with materials, consumer discretionary and utility stocks taking a beating.
Impressive Quarter for NVIDIA
Investors were also looking ahead to quarterly results from chip behemoth NVIDIA Corporation ((NVDA - Free Report) ) on Wednesday. The chipmaker, which has been at the heart of the AI enthusiasm, came up with solid quarterly results.
NVIDIA reported first-quarter 2024 earnings of $6.12 per share, easily surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.49 per share. The company posted revenues of $26.04 billion for the quarter, also beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.02%. However, shares of NVIDIA ended 0.5% lower. NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
However, the minutes of the Fed’ss meeting weighed on investors’ sentiment, taking a toll on the broader market.
Economic Data
In economic data released on Wednesday, existing home sales unexpectedly fell 0.9% to 4.14 million in April, missing expectations of a rise of 1.4% to 4.25 million from 4.19 million in March.