Stocks on Wall Street were volatile but soared Wednesday. The Fed left its main interest rate unchangedwas in line with expectations, but indicated that the next move in interest rates would likely be a rate cut.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 476 points, or 1.3%, to $38,292. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% and the Nasdaq rose 1.3%.
The US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) ended its two-day monetary policy meeting by keeping the federal funds target rate unchanged at 5.25% to 5.50%.
“Interest rates are on hold and the note mentions no further progress on inflation,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. “That’s not surprising.”
An accompanying statement left the timing of the rate cut in doubt, with Fed officials highlighting concerns that the first few months of 2024 have done little to boost expectations for lower inflation.
Powell said at a news conference that the central bank remains committed to its 2% inflation target and that the labor market is normalizing, citing data released Wednesday showing job openings have fallen to a three-year low. He said there is.
The first quarter reporting season has quickly passed the halfway point, with 310 companies in the S&P 500 Index having completed their reports. Of those, 77% generated returns that beat consensus, according to LSEG.
Analysts now expect first-quarter earnings growth across the S&P 500 to be 6.6% year-over-year, compared with the 5.1% forecast as of April 1, LSEG data showed. significantly exceeds.
Among individual companies, Advanced Micro Devices fell 7.4% after disappointing sales forecasts for artificial intelligence chips, and Super Micro Computers fell 11.0% after the company’s quarterly sales fell short. It fell.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Stock Index fell 1.3% on the disappointing earnings report.
Amazon rose 4.5% after better-than-expected quarterly results as interest in AI fueled growth in cloud computing.
Johnson & Johnson rose 4.8% after announcing it would move forward with a $6.48 billion lawsuit settlement over allegations that its baby powder and other talc products cause ovarian cancer.
Starbucks fell 17% after the coffee chain’s same-store sales fell for the first time in nearly three years and the company lowered its sales forecast.
CVS Health plunged 16% after the company’s revenue fell below consensus and the company cut its full-year profit forecast.
