U.S. Indexes Wavered as Investors Weigh Latest Earnings Ahead of Fed's Rate Decisions

Barry Adams
30 Jul, 2024
New York City

U.S. indexes wavered as investors reviewed a fresh batch of earnings and awaited the Fed's rate decisions on Wednesday. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite fluctuated around the flatline, but the small company-focused Russell 2000 index added nearly 1%. 

Earnings dominated market sentiment amid a flood of earnings, including results from Merck, Pfizer, JetBlue, F5, Woodward, and Procter & Gamble. 

Investors also looked forward to earnings after the close today from Microsoft, Starbucks, and AMD. 

On the economic front this week, investors are also awaiting the release of June's nonfarm payroll data and reviewing the JOLT report indicating labor market conditions. 

Job openings in June edged slightly lower to 8.18 million from 8.23 million in May, according to the Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The Federal Reserve is also scheduled to announce its monetary policy decisions on Wednesday, and investors are widely anticipating the central bank to hold Fed Funds rates steady between 52.5% and 5.50%. 

The hiring levels declined by 554,000 over the year to 5.3 million, and the hire rate as a share of the workforce eased to 3.4%, the lowest since October 2013, excluding pandemic-era layoffs in April 2020.

The number of people quitting their jobs eased to 3.3 million, the lowest since November 2020.  

 

U.S. Indexes and Treasury Yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.1% to 5,467.97, the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.2% to 17,342.78, and the Russell 2000 index rose 0.9% to 2,255.77.

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged lower to 4.38%, 10-year Treasury notes decreased to 4.16%, and 30-year Treasury bonds decreased to 4.41%.

WTI crude oil decreased $0.96 to $74.84 a barrel, and natural gas prices edged up 13 cents to $2.03 a thermal unit.

Gold increased by $6.70 to $2,388.65 an ounce, and silver declined by $0.05 to $27.86. 

The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 104.75.

 

U.S. Stock Movers 

JetBlue jumped 21.6% to $7.21 after the regional airline unexpectedly reported profit in its latest quarter. 

Procter & Gamble plunged 6% to $159.73, and the household products maker reported weaker-than-expected revenue due to weak sales in China. 

Merck & Company dropped 8.6% to $116.61 after the pharmaceutical company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, but the company's annual guidance fell short of investor expectations. 

Pfizer declined 2.9% to $116.61 despite the pharmaceutical company reporting better-than-expected second quarter results and lifting its annual outlook.

F5 Inc. soared 10.7% to $196.71 after the cyber security network management software company reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings in the fiscal third quarter. 

Woodward Inc. dropped 16.5% to $152.91, and the aerospace company's revenue in the fiscal third quarter of $847.7 million fell short of market expectations.