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20/05/24
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Stocks On Wall Street Rangebound Before More Earnings, Fed Speakers, Minutes
On Monday, stocks on Wall Street traded in tight ranges as investors were cautious before more clues this week on earnings and interest rates.
The NASDAQ Composite rose 50 points, or 0.3%, the S&P 500 rose 5 points, or 0.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16 points, or 0.1%.
This week, the focus is on more clues from the Fed on the future path of interest rates, with the minutes of the central bank’s meeting in April due to be released on Wednesday.
At that meeting, Fed officials maintained rates unchanged and said that they required more confidence that inflation was moving down. Fed Chair Jerome Powell however also said that it was expected rates would eventually come down this year.
Several Fed officials are also scheduled to speak during this week, with the focus on the Fed’s rate-setting committee members.
The Fed clues come amid increasing focus on the central bank’s plans to reduce interest rates, especially after softer April inflation readings fueled hopes for a rate cut in September.
Markets were also waiting for May’s purchasing managers index data, which will offer more clues on U.S. business activity. Any indications of easing may factor into the outlook for interest rate cuts.
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