Stock Market News for Mar 27, 2024
U.S. stocks edged lower on Tuesday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 recording their third straight session of declines as investors took a breather from the recent rally and waited for the all-important inflation data to gauge the Federal Reserve’s next move. All three major indexes ended in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell less than 0.1% or 31.31 points to end at 39,282.33 points.
The S&P 500 declined 0.3% or 14.61 points, to finish at 5,203.58 points. Utilities and energy stocks were the worst performers.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) declined 1.1%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) dropped 0.8%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) lost 0.4%. Seven of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 0.4% or 68.77 points to close at 16,315.70 points, recording its biggest single-day percentage drop since Mar 15.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 0.38% to 13.24. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.24-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.34-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 10.43 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 12.23 billion.
Wall Street Rally Eases Ahead of Inflation Data Release
Stocks struggled to gain momentum on Tuesday as investors took a breather from the recent rally. Wall Street has so far had a great year and is on track to close March and the first quarter on a high.
On Tuesday, investors shifted focus to the key reading on the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Index, the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation gauge that is due for release on Friday. However, Wall Street will be closed for Good Friday.
Last week, the Federal Reserve said that it still plans three interest rate cuts by the end of this year. However, it didn’t give any timeline for the first of the three rate cuts. Investors are expecting the first rate cut in June.
The PCE reading will give investors a clearer picture of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path.
Tech stocks took a beating on Tuesday. Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) fell 0.7%, while Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) dropped 0.3%. Microsoft has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Economic Data
The Conference Board said on Tuesday that consumer confidence was little changed at 104.7 in March. January’s reading came in at 104.8.
In other economic data released on Tuesday, durable goods orders increased 1.4% in February, after declining 6.9% in January. Year-over-year, orders for durable goods increased 1.8% in February.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index reflected a 6% annual increase in home prices in January.
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