U.S. Stocks On Hold Ahead of Rate Decision and Inflation Outlook

Barry Adams
20 Mar, 2024
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street rested, and benchmark indexes hugged the flatline ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.1% as investors awaited the Fed's rate decision, interest rate, and inflation outlook. 

Investors are also keenly awaiting the Fed's views on the rate path, and if and when rates are likely to be revised downward, many investors are hoping that the central bank will start that process as early as June. 

Policymakers are struggling to keep inflation in check while keeping the economy growing with minimal impact on the labor market. 

The tough balancing act also requires policymakers to review factors such as supply chain challenges and import price inflation, including the price of crude oil and other energy products, that could impact inflationary forces. 

Moreover, over the last eighteen months, goods price inflation has moderated but service price inflation has remained elevated, keeping the core rate of inflation significantly higher than the Fed's target rate of 2%. 

 

U.S. Indexes and Yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.04% to 5,176.89, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.05% to 16,154.39. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes decreased to 4.69%, 10-year Treasury notes inched down to 4.29%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged down to 4.44%.

WTI crude oil increased $1.21 to $81.51 a barrel, and natural gas prices increased 4 cents to $1.69 a thermal unit.

Gold decreased by $3.98 to $2,153.24 an ounce, and silver fell 3 cents to $24.94. 

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 104.12.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Chipotle Mexican Grill jumped 5.6% to $2,955.0 after the company announced a 50-for-1 stock split subject to shareholder approval at its next annual meeting on June 6. 

After the approval, shareholders, as of June 18, will receive an additional 49 shares. 

Intel rose 3.4% to $43.47 on reports that the U.S. government is ready to approve up to $8.5 billion in CHIPS Act funding and as much as $11 billion in additional long-term loans. 

Samsung Electronics jumped 5.6% in Seoul after Nvidia said at its annual developer's conference that the company's high-bandwidth memory chips are in the "qualifying" stage to be included in its next generation of graphic processors.

General Mills increased 2.8% to $70.60 after the food product maker reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings. 

JetBlue Airways declined 1.1% to $6.63 after the regional airline canceled several unprofitable routes and focused on stronger routes amid constrained aircraft capacity. 

Signet Jewelers declined 7.3% to $95.0 after the specialty retailer's weak outlook outweighed an increase in dividends and better-than-expected earnings.