U.S. Indexes Hold Steady Ahead of Inflation Report and Quarterly Results

Barry Adams
10 Jan, 2024
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street were little changed in early trading, and investors shifted their attention to inflation data and the quarterly results from banks. 

Benchmark indexes lacked direction in early trading and Treasury yields hovered near recent levels as investors awaited the release of consumer price inflation report on Thursday and producer price inflation report on Friday. 

Investors are hoping that the recent deceleration in inflation is likely to continue, and may convince policymakers in lowering rates in March. 

Consumer price index in November eased to 3.1% from 3.2% in October, and economists are anticipating inflation in December to hover near 3% level. 

Producer price index in November was unchanged from the previous month following the decline of 0.4% in October.  

Investors are also awaiting the release of earning from JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Delta Airlines, and UnitedHealth Group. 

 

U.S. Indexes and Yields

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.3% to 4,750.81, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.02% to 14,846.78.

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes decreased to 4.38%,410-year Treasury notes held steady at 4.0%, and 30-year Treasury bonds eased to 4.17%.

WTI crude oil increased $0.76 to $72.98 a barrel, and natural gas prices increased 6 cents to $3.12 a thermal unit.

Gold increased $2.23 to $2,031.91 an ounce, and investors debated the future interest rate path.

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 102.47.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise increased 0.4% to $16.20 after the company confirmed it agreed to acquire Juniper Networks for $40 a share, or about $14 billion, in an all-cash deal.

Lennar Corp. increased 1.4% to $150.17 after the home builder increased its annual dividend to $2.0 from $1.50 a share and the company's board approved the stock repurchase program of $5 billion.

WD-40 Company advanced 6.5% to $252.0 after the lubricant maker reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Revenue in the fiscal first quarter ending in November increased 12% from a year ago to $140.4 million, rose to $17.5 million from $13.99 million, and diluted earnings per share advanced to $1.28 from $1.02 a year ago.

PriceSmart jumped 8.9% to $79.42 after the membership warehouse club reported fiscal first quarter results.

Revenue in the quarter ending in November rose 10.6% to $1.2 billion from $1.05 billion, net income jumped to $38 million from $32.9 million, and diluted earnings per share advanced to $1.24 from $1.05 a year ago.

Intuitive Surgical rose 4.9% to $347.0 after the medical equipment maker reported preliminary quarterly results and a stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter sales outlook.

Revenue in the fourth quarter increased 17% to $1.93 billion from $1.66 billion, and revenue in the full-year 2023 rose 14% to $7.12 billion from $6.22 billion a year ago.

The company placed 415 da Vinci surgical systems, an increase of 12% from a year ago.

In 2023, the number of da Vinci surgical systems installed increased by 8% to 1,370 from 1,264 a year ago.