NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks were volatile Monday as Wall Street geared up for a week packed with potentially market-moving reports.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% in early trading, its best week since November. As of 9:40 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 111 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.2%.
This week, about a third of S&P 500 companies will report on how much profit they made in the first three months of the year. This includes major companies like Amazon and Apple. The report so far has generally been better than expected, with about half of the S&P 500’s report highlighted last week. alphabet, microsoft others.
Domino’s Pizza joined that pile on Monday, reporting better-than-expected results as delivery and carryout orders rose for the second straight quarter. The stock rose 3.9%.
Solid numbers like these helped propel the S&P 500 index higher last week. First winning week in 4 years. Companies included in the index are expected to collectively increase their earnings per share by 3.5% year-over-year, which would be his third consecutive quarter of growth.
It will take this much strength for the stock market to stabilize after a rough April. The S&P 500 is stubbornly high inflation Traders forced to backtrack on expectations for when the Federal Reserve will start interest rate relaxation.
Predictions for this year 6 or more As interest rates have been cut this year, traders are now placing more bets on just one stock, according to data from CME Group.
When the Federal Reserve announces its latest policy decision on Wednesday, no one expects it to change its key interest rate, which is at its highest level since 2001. Rather, the hope is that the central bank will provide some clues about the timing of its first policy decision. There is a possibility that interest rates will be cut.
Much of the record rally in U.S. stocks since late October was built on expectations for future interest rate cuts, which would ease pressure on the economy and typically boost the prices of investments. If these do not materialize, the stock market may come under further downward pressure.
This week’s Fed meeting will not include a release of Fed officials’ predictions about where they expect interest rates to go in the coming years. In the previous forecast summary released in March, a typical Fed official at the time indicated: Draw a pencil in three cuts Towards 2024.
But Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell may offer more color in his press conference after the central bank’s decision. But he may not offer much, as a major report is due later in the week that could further change the outlook for policymakers.
Economists expect Friday’s jobs report to show that U.S. employers hired a little less in April and that wage growth for workers remains relatively strong.
Wall Street is in an awkward position, with the job market expected to remain strong enough to avoid a recession, but not strong enough to cause upward pressure on inflation.
Other potentially market-moving reports this week include the latest monthly updates on the economy’s manufacturing and services sectors, as well as details from the U.S. Treasury on the amount of Treasuries being auctioned.
In overseas markets, the Japanese stock market was closed due to the holiday. However, the Japanese yen remains the center of the foreign exchange market and has fallen to 1990 levels against the US dollar. The sharp decline in the value of the yen has increased speculation in the market as to whether the Japanese authorities will take any action. To support it. The Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged on Friday.
Elsewhere, stock indexes rose across much of Asia, while Europe remained mixed.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 4.63% from 4.67% late Friday.
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AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed.
