U.S. Major Averages Rested After Setting Records In Previous Week

Barry Adams
26 Feb, 2024
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street were in no hurry to go anywhere in Monday's trading, following a week of AI-powered surges. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite flatlined in early trading, and investors took a wait-and-see approach ahead of the release of economic data later this week. 

This week, investors are looking forward to the release of the PCE Price Index, personal income and outlays, durable goods orders, the second estimate of fourth-quarter GDP data, and the goods trade balance.

Durable goods orders are scheduled to be released on Thursday, and investors are looking to get more clues about the demand for large-ticket items from businesses. 

On the corporate front, investors are looking ahead to the release of earnings from Dell, HP, TJX Companies, and Lowe’s. 

Investors have ignore the hawkish tone of Federal Reserve policymakers and benchmark indexes have advanced more than 30% since October. 

Moreover, investors are increasingly comfortable with higher interest rates because corporations have generally been successful in passing on higher operating costs to their customers and delivering earnings growth. 

Investors may not be sure about the timing of the interest rate cut, but most investors anticipate that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates sometimes before the end of the first half. 

 

U.S. Indexes and Yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.1% to 5,094.76, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.2% to 16,023.43. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes increased to 4.71%, 10-year Treasury notes inched down to 4.26%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged down to 4.37%.

WTI crude oil decreased $0.07 to $76.41 a barrel, and natural gas prices increased 11 cents to $1.72 a thermal unit.

Gold decreased by $5.89 to $2,029.83 an ounce. 

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 103.82.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Domino's Pizza increased 6.3% to $461.0, after the restaurant chain operator announced its $1 billion stock repurchase plan and increased its dividend by 25%. 

Berkshire Hathaway Class B increased 1.6% to $424.0 after the diversified conglomerate's fourth-quarter operating profit increased by 30% from a year ago. 

Amer Sports jumped 3% to $15.91 after several analysts made positive comments in their research notes, citing opportunities for revenue growth and margin expansion.