S&P 500 Rebound Led by Tech Stocks, Retail Sales Fall

Barry Adams
15 Jun, 2022
New York City

Stocks rebounded after five days of selling and investors awaited Fed's comments and rate decision this afternoon. 

The S&P 500 index increased 1.3% to 3,785.83 and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 1.7% to 11,010.37.

Futures of crude oil declined 85 cents to $118.05 a barrel and natural gas increased 45 cents to $7.65 a unit.  

Traders are rooting for 75-basis-point after the consumer prices accelerated in May and crude oil prices show no sign of weakening. 

The consumer price index has stayed above the Fed's target rate of 2% since January 2021 and with each passing month inflation has been seeping deeper and broader in broader economic activities. 

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes edged lower to 3.39% and mortgage rates crossed 6.2% this week according to the Mortgage Daily News. 

Retail sales turned negative as consumers curtail discretionary spending, the Commerce Department said today. 

On a monthly basis, advance retail and food services sales fell 0.3% in May and excluding auto increased 0.5%. 

Sales were lower from the downwardly revised 0.7% from 0.9% increase in April. 

On a yearly basis, retail sales rose 8.1% as consumers dipped in savings to keep up with price increases. 

Home builders sentiment index declined for the sixth month in a row as buyers stayed away after mortgage rates escalated in the last five months. 

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index decreased 2 points to 67 in June as home prices hovered near record levels and mortgage rates more than doubled. 

The European Central Bank said it plans to release a new tool to tackle rising sovereign bond yields and the risk of euro zone fragmentation. 

The yield on 10-year German Bund trade around 1.60% but the yields on similar maturities of Italian bonds surged above 4% and of Greek bonds hovered near 7%. 

The central bank plans to reinvest redemptions from the proceeds of its emergency bond purchasing program in a flexible way. 

The central bank set no limit for the purchase amount.