S&P 500 and Nasdaq Halt 3-day Slide, Crude Oil Stays Elevated

Barry Adams
17 Apr, 2024
New York City

Benchmark indexes on Wall Street advanced in early trading as investors awaited a fresh batch of earnings. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite edged higher after falling for three days in a row on interest rate uncertainties and rising tensions in the Middle East. 

Treasury yields edged slightly lower after rebounding in the previous five sessions, after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that policymakers would like to see "further progress on inflation" before the interest rate could be cut. 

Powell's comments did little to persuade bond traders, and investors debated future rate paths. 

The latest updates on retail sales, inflation, nonfarm payrolls, durable goods output, and housing market activities confirmed that the U.S. economy and labor markets are resilient, despite multiple rate hikes over the last eighteen months. 

Moreover, service sector inflation is still running at a 4% annual rate, suggesting that the Federal Reserve will find it difficult to bring down inflation from above the 3% level to the target rate of 2%. 

Consumer price inflation has stayed above 3% over the last nine months in a row. 

 

U.S. Indexes and Yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.3% to 5,083.14, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 15,985.31. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged higher to 4.98%, 10-year Treasury notes inched down to 4.66%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged lower to 4.77%.

WTI crude oil decreased $0.51 to $84.85 a barrel, and natural gas prices decreased 6 cents to $1.66 a thermal unit.

Gold increased by $10.65 to $2,388.28 an ounce, and silver fell 30 cents to $28.48. 

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 106.17.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

United Airlines increased 4.9% to $43.56 after the international carrier reported stronger-than-expected first quarter results supported by sustained travel demand. 

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declined 7% to $170.02 after the trucking and logistics firm reported weaker-than-expected revenue and earnings in its latest quarter. 

The transport services company reported quarterly revenue of $2.94 billion and earnings per share of $1.22. 

Autodesk declined 5.8% to $215.01 after the company said it would further delay its annual 10-K filing because of an ongoing internal investigation into the company's audit committee of the board of directors. 

Travelers Companies declined 2.7% to $217.0 after the insurance company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results. 

Tesla Inc. increased 0.9% to $158.57 after the company said it would ask shareholders to revote the $56 billion pay package for the company's chief executive, Elon Musk.