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Stock Market News: Dow Ticks Higher
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell.
Last Updated:
April 18, 2024 at 7:36 PM EDT
Updated 18 days ago
Stock Futures Are Rising Amid Signs of Strength for the U.S. Economy
(Dreamstime)
U.S. stock futures pointed up early Thursday after the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, a summary of economic conditions in U.S. regions, offered encouraging news about the outlook.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 80 points, or 0.2%. Futures for the S&P 500 also gained 0.2%, as did those for the Nasdaq 100.
On Wednesday, all three indexes finished lower, with the Nasdaq down the most with a 1.2% drop. The S&P has now declined for four straight sessions and is down more than 4% from its most recent record high in March.
Investors are concerned that sticky inflation may prevent the Fed from cutting interest rates as much as hoped. The Beige Book showed that employment still looks strong while wage growth is cooling, and that businesses expect inflation to steady. At the same time, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said Wednesday that policy makers aren’t in a hurry to start cutting.
“The stock market’s biggest worry right now is inflation,” said Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer at Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management. The Fed “declared victory on inflation way too early in late 2023, and now it’s walking back that optimism,” he added.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell slightly early Wednesday to 4.459%. It’s still up from below 4% at the start of the year, reflecting expectations of interest rates staying higher for longer. The 2-year yield traded at 4.928%.