Markets Stayed Calm as Monster Hurricane Milton Barrels Towards Florida Gulf Coast

Barry Adams
09 Oct, 2024
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street meandered in early trading on Wednesday as investors awaited the Fed's policy meeting minutes later today and inflation updates later in the week. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite traded around the flatline, and investors remained positive ahead of the start of the earnings season. 

Market sentiment has been on the rebound over the last three weeks after string positive economic data confirmed the resilience of the U.S. economy and labor market conditions. 

However, the investors dialed down aggressive rate-cut expectations after the U.S. economy added jobs at the fastest pace in six months. 

Market participants are growing confident in the Fed's ability to engineer soft landings, meaning cooling inflation without dipping the economy into a recession. 

Investors are hoping that the consumer price inflation report on Thursday and the producer price inflation report on Friday will confirm the downward trajectory of inflation in September. 

Hurricane Milton was also in focus as the potent storm barrels towards the West Coast of Florida, and the National Hurricane Center is anticipating the storm to make landfall sometime late tonight on Wednesday. 

Devastating winds of speed as high as 150 mph with rainfall of more than 12 inches are expected to hit most of the coastal cities and towns from Cedar Key down to Naples. 

  

U.S. Indexes and Treasury Yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.1% to 5,754.85, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1% to 18,166.71, and the Russell 2000 index fell 0.1% to 2,194.98. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged higher to 4.0%, 10-year Treasury notes inched up to 4.05%, and 30-year Treasury bonds inched higher to 4.33%.

WTI crude oil decreased $1.45 to $72.11 a barrel, and natural gas prices edged down 5 cents to $2.67 a thermal unit.

Gold fell by $10.81 to $2,611.10 an ounce, and silver decreased by $0.21 to $30.45.

The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of foreign currencies, edged higher to 102.74.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Boeing Company declined 3% to $150.09, and the company withdrew its wage offer to machinists after talks broke down. 

S&P Global placed Boeing's debt rating on a negative credit watch list and said the 33,000 machinists union strike will cost more than $1 billion per month. 

Alphabet Class A declined 1.3% to $162.17 after the Justice Department requested a U.S. judge to order severe restrictions on the company's "unlawful monopoly in search" or break up its operations. 

Generac increased 1.6% to $173.85, a two-year high, after Hurricane Milton intensified and widened to cover a larger area in Florida. 

The deadly and most severe storm of the year is expected to knock out powerlines in several counties across Florida, potentially impacting several million people.