Stocks were little changed as traders assessed another batch of corporate earnings and remained focused on any signals about the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves. Bond yields climbed.
(Bloomberg) — Stocks were little changed as traders assessed another batch of corporate earnings and remained focused on any signals about the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves. Bond yields climbed.
The S&P 500 halted a two-day advance. The Cboe Volatility Index hit its lowest since November 2021, declining to around 16. In late trading, Tesla Inc. dropped as its first-quarter profit missed expectations. International Business Machines Corp. rose after reporting better-than-estimated earnings, while giving a forecast for annual revenue that was in line with projections.
Morgan Stanley rose after its investment bank and giant wealth unit surpassed expectations even as profits fell. Western Alliance Bancorp climbed after beating earnings estimates and saying deposits recovered.
The US economy stalled in recent weeks, with hiring and inflation slowing and access to credit narrowing, the Fed said in its Beige Book survey. That’s a step down from the tone of the previous report — published in early March just before Silicon Valley Bank’s failure — which showed an economy that remained resilient though with growing doubts about the rest of the year.
“Portfolio managers are trying to reduce risk because of concerns that nothing good can happen after so much central bank tightening,” said Andrew Pease, head of investment strategy at Russell investments Ltd. On earnings, “companies are losing pricing power and a margin squeeze is happening in the background and that’s what to look for when the dust settles on quarter one.”
Treasury two-year rates, which are more sensitive to imminent policy moves, topped 4.2%. The dollar rose. Bitcoin dropped below $30,000. Oil fell while gold declined below $2,000 an ounce.
Read: US Cash Pile Jumps $108 Billion on Tax Day Amid Debt-Cap Concern
Key events this week:
- China loan prime rates, Thursday
- Eurozone consumer confidence, Thursday
- US initial jobless claims, existing home sales, index of leading economic indicators, Thursday
- ECB issues report on March policy meeting, Thursday
- Fed’s Christopher Waller speaks at cryptocurrency-focused event, Thursday
- Fed’s Patrick Harker speaks on “monetary policy and housing”, Thursday
- Fed’s Loretta Mester discusses the economic and policy outlook, Thursday
- Fed’s Raphael Bostic discusses regional and national economic conditions, Thursday
- Fed’s Michelle Bowman and Lorie Logan speak at event, Thursday
- PMIs for Eurozone, Friday
- Japan CPI, Friday
- Fed’s Lisa Cook discusses economic research at an event, Friday
Some of the main moves in the market:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4 p.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
- The MSCI World index fell 0.2%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
- The euro fell 0.2% to $1.0955
- The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.2439
- The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 134.80 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin fell 3.9% to $29,226.92
- Ether fell 5.4% to $1,980.69
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 3.60%
- Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 2.52%
- Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 11 basis points to 3.86%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.2% to $79.09 a barrel
- Gold futures fell 0.6% to $2,006.80 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Emily Graffeo, Peyton Forte and Isabelle Lee.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
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