Stocks fluctuated as traders weighed earnings from banks and comments from two Federal Reserve officials who favor continued rate hikes to fight inflation. Bonds rose.
(Bloomberg) — Stocks fluctuated as traders weighed earnings from banks and comments from two Federal Reserve officials who favor continued rate hikes to fight inflation. Bonds rose.
The S&P 500 was little changed. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. dropped as traders failed to capitalize on the fixed-income bonanza the rest of Wall Street generated last quarter, contributing to firmwide revenue that trailed analysts’ estimates. Bank of America Corp. fell even as profit beat expectations.
“It’s so early in the reporting season, it’s really hard to make too much out of what’s going on,” said Tony Roth, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust. Regional banks are due to report results in the coming days and weeks, and “that will give us a better sense of how they’re doing.”
Fed Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic told CNBC he favors raising interest rates one more time and then holding them above 5% for some time to curb inflation that remains too high. His St. Louis counterpart James Bullard, who’s been among the more hawkish policymakers, separately told Reuters that he favors getting rates into a 5.5% to 5.75% range. The current benchmark sits between 4.75% and 5%.
Investor allocation to equities relative to bonds has dropped to its lowest since the global financial crisis as worries about a recession take hold, according to BofA’s global fund manager survey. BlackRock Inc. said it expects institutional investors to increase allocations to private equity and private credit funds this year even with recession fears and rising interest rates.
Boeing Co. is moving ahead with plans to hike output of its cash-cow 737 jetliner while dealing with the ripple effects from a new production flaw uncovered by one of its largest suppliers. Southwest Airlines Co. is halting flights nationwide as the carrier said it was dealing with “intermittent technology issues.” Johnson & Johnson’s executives shared disappointing news that it couldn’t reveal updates on a key lung cancer drug study that investors have been watching closely.
Key events this week:
- Eurozone CPI, Wednesday
- Fed releases Beige Book, Wednesday
- Fed’s John Williams gives a speech, Wednesday
- Fed’s Austan Goolsbee is interviewed on NPR, Wednesday
- 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 12:34 p.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
- The MSCI World index rose 0.2%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
- The euro rose 0.4% to $1.0965
- The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.2423
- The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 134.14 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 2.4% to $30,176.71
- Ether rose 0.8% to $2,094.38
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 3.58%
- Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.48%
- Britain’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 3.75%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6% to $81.28 a barrel
- Gold futures rose 0.6% to $2,019.10 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Cristin Flanagan, Vildana Hajric, Carly Wanna, Isabelle Lee and Peyton Forte.
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