Stocks opened with mixed results on Wall Street following the release of the latest inflation update. The S&P 500 saw a slight increase of 0.1% on Tuesday, remaining just below the all-time high reached last week. Meanwhile, the Dow slipped by 20 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose by 0.2%. The inflation report, which was highly anticipated, revealed that consumer prices in the U.S. increased slightly more than what economists had predicted. This development has dimmed hopes for a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week. Oracle experienced a significant increase in its stock value after reporting results that surpassed expectations. Conversely, Southwest Airlines saw a decline as it announced plans to reduce capacity due to fewer aircraft deliveries from Boeing.
Wall Street showed mixed signals in early trading on Tuesday, as investors awaited the U.S. inflation report, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates.
Before the market opening, S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down less than 0.1%.
If economists’ forecasts are accurate, the report on American consumer prices could indicate that inflation remained at 3.1% in February.
A month ago, a higher-than-expected inflation report led to significant fluctuations in financial markets.
However, the trend in inflation has primarily been downward, moving closer to the Fed’s target of 2% from its previous peak of over 9%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated last week that the Fed is nearing the point where it has enough confidence in inflation to begin reducing rates. Lowering the Fed’s main interest rate, which is currently at its highest level since 2001, would ease pressure on the economy and financial system while boosting investment prices.
Traders generally anticipate that the Fed will start cutting rates in June, and this expectation, along with signs of the economy’s resilience, has supported equity prices.
Oracle’s shares surged over 13% in after-hours trading following its earnings report, which exceeded analyst expectations due to strong growth in its cloud segment.
Shares of New York Community Bank also received a slight boost after the bank announced it had secured a $1 billion lifeline from investors. The bank’s stock rose 4% to $3.25 on Tuesday. This comes after the bank reported weaknesses in commercial real estate and challenges stemming from its acquisition of the troubled Signature Bank a year ago for $2.7 billion. The bank’s value has decreased by a third this month.
In midday trading in Europe, Germany’s DAX rose by 0.4% and Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.8%. The CAC 40 in Paris remained largely unchanged.
In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell by less than 0.1% to 38,797.51, moving further away from its recent record highs amid speculation that the central bank will raise its negative benchmark interest rate next month.
This speculation has caused the Japanese yen to strengthen against the U.S. dollar. Early Tuesday, the dollar was trading at 147.35 yen, up from 146.95 yen. Recently, the dollar was trading at around 150 yen.
Chinese markets showed mixed results, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng increasing by 3.1% to 17,093.50, driven by gains in property developers and technology companies.
However, the Shanghai Composite index retreated, dropping by 0.4% to 3,055.94.
In other parts of Asia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose by 0.1% to 7,712.50, while South Korea’s Kospi increased by 0.8% to 2,681.81.
After reaching a record high above $72,700 on Monday, Bitcoin was trading at around $71,886 early Tuesday. Bitcoin had fallen below $17,000 at the beginning of last year.
In early trading on Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose by 22 cents to $78.15 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It had fallen by 8 cents to $77.93 per barrel on Monday.
Brent crude, the international standard, increased by 32 cents to $82.53 per barrel.
The dollar fell to 147.40 Japanese yen, while the euro rose to $1.0934 from $1.0925.
On Monday, the S&P 500 fell by 0.1% but remained near its all-time high set on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell by 0.4%.
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