Stock Market News for Mar 18, 2024
Market News
Wall Street closed lower on Friday with the Fed facing an inflation dilemma ahead of the policy meeting. Market participants were assessing strong earnings results. All three major stock indexes ended in negative territory. However, last week was a negative one for the U.S. stock markets.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was down 0.5%, or 190.89 points, to close at 38,714.77. Notably, 23 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, while seven were in green.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 1% or 155.36 points to finish at 15,973.17.
The S&P 500 fell 0.7% to end at 5,117.09. All 11 broad sectors of the benchmark ended in negative territory. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE), the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) declined 0.8%, 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased 0.1% to 14.41. A total of 18.76 billion shares were traded on Friday, higher than the last 20-session average of 12.4 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.11-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.12-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues. The S&P 500 posted 27 new 52-week highs and no new lows, and the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 134 new lows.
Fed Inflation Dilemma Ahead of Policy Meeting
The upcoming meeting of the Federal Reserve is being overshadowed by inflation worries leading to questions about the direction of its policies. Recent data indicating increases in inflation have sparked speculation on whether the Fed will make adjustments to its approach.
In December, the Fed had forecast rate cuts for 2024 with a goal of reducing rates by 0.75% points. However, the rise in consumer prices in January and February is challenging this projection.
Market sentiment indicates a 99% likelihood of the Fed maintaining its interest rates. Nevertheless, there is anticipation surrounding insights into policymakers’ perspectives on conditions and future rate paths through the FOMC’s "dot plot" forecasts.
Despite indicators concerns about how inflation might affect growth are looming large. The decisions made by the Fed at this point will carry implications, for market dynamics and economic stability.
Solid Q4 Earning
GigaCloud Technology Inc. GCT reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 adjusted earnings of $0.87 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.58 per share. The technology services retailer generated total revenues of $244.74 million, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11.09%.
Phreesia, Inc. PHR reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 adjusted loss of $0.56 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.58 per share. The developer of healthcare software generated total revenues of $95.01 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $93.1 million.
Consequently, shares of GigaCloud Technology and Phreesia returned 23.3% and 4.8%, respectively. Each of these companies carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Economic Data
U.S. industrial production climbed 0.1% in February, after declining 0.5% in January. Manufacturing output rose 0.8%. Capacity utilization remained at 78.3% in February.
The University of Michigan reported that the preliminary reading of consumer sentiment came in at 76.5 in March, missing the consensus estimate of 77.4. The final reading for February was 71.9.
Separately, the New York Federal Reserve released data from its Empire State manufacturing survey, revealing that the business conditions index fell to 20.9 for the current month. The reading missed economists’ expectations of a negative reading of 6 within the state.
Weekly Roundup
Last week was a negative for Wall Street. The S&P 500 fell by 0.13%, the Dow declined by 0.02% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.7%.
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