Wall Street Indexes Rest, Treasury Yields Advance, Crude Oil Trades at 5-month High

Barry Adams
16 Apr, 2024
Mumbai

Stocks rested in early trading on Wall Street as investors reviewed the latest batch of earnings. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite were little changed after Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and UnitedHealth Group reported better-than-expected quarterly results. 

Crude oil futures hovered near their five-month high amid rising tensions in the Middle East as Israel mulls over new actions after Iran's missiles and drones attacked Israel. 

Moreover, shipping companies are still avoiding Red Sea lanes because of worries about Houthi rebel attacks, elongating shipping delivery times, and lifting shipping freight rates. 

Investors generally stayed on the sidelines and debated future rate paths after strong economic data over the last two weeks suggested resilient U.S. economy and labor market conditions. 

 

Housing Permits and Construction Fall

Rising mortgage rates and elevated home prices negatively impacted housing market activities in March. 

Housing permits, starts, and completions fell in the month as buyers struggled with affordability issues. 

Housing starts declined 14.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million, permits declined 4.3% to an annual rate of 1.46 million, and completions decreased 13.5% to an annual pace of 1.47 million from the previous month, respectively. 

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the residential construction update. 

A year ago, building permits increased by 1.5%, housing starts declined by 4.3%, and completions fell by 3.9%. 

 

U.S. Indexes and Yields

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.09% to 5,057.49, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.03% to 15,889.95. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged higher to 4.98%, 10-year Treasury notes inched up to 4.68%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged up to 4.80%.

Crude oil prices hovered near five-month highs as tensions in the Middle East escalated and Israel prepared for the next round of actions targeting Iran-controlled assets and territory. 

WTI crude oil decreased $0.35 to $85.05 a barrel, and natural gas prices decreased 0.1 cent to $1.68 a thermal unit.

Gold increased by $15.32 to $2,368.21 an ounce, and silver fell 87 cents to $28.05. 

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 106.22.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

UnitedHealth Group rose 6.6% to $475.39 after the health insurance company reported first quarter revenue that surpassed market expectations. 

Revenue in the first quarter increased to $99.8 billion, and diluted earnings per share rose to $6.91. 

Johnson & Johnson declined 2.4% to $144.05 after the company reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings of $.271 per share on revenues of $21.38 billion. 

Bank of America declined 3.3% to $34.74 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results driven by an increase in net interest income and investment banking activities. 

Revenue increased to $25.46 billion, driven by net interest income of $14.19 billion. 

Morgan Stanley increased 3.3% to $89.86 after the financial services company reported first quarter revenue of $15.1 billion and diluted earnings per share of $2.02; both measures were ahead of market expectations.