The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite experienced slight declines on Monday, with the broad market index losing 0.1% and the Nasdaq falling 0.4%. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a gain of 74 points or 0.2%.
One notable company making headlines was Macy’s, whose shares rallied by 16% after receiving a buyout offer of $5.8 billion. On the other hand, tech giants Apple and Nvidia experienced pullbacks of 1.3% and 1.6% respectively, which exerted pressure on the Nasdaq. Meta Platforms also saw a slight dip of nearly 3% in its shares.
During this Federal Reserve meeting, it is widely expected that the fed funds rate will remain steady within the 5.25%-5.5% range. In addition, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is anticipated to reiterate his commitment to lowering inflation during his press conference on Wednesday. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool currently indicates that there is a 45% probability that the Fed will lower rates by 0.25 percentage points in March.
Chris Larkin, the head of trading and investing at E-Trade, suggests that while no rate hikes are expected, higher-than-anticipated inflation readings could temper expectations of imminent rate cuts.
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have seen steady gains for six consecutive weeks. Market participants will closely monitor key inflation data this week, as it could influence market movements and the Federal Reserve’s decisions regarding interest rate cuts. The release of the November consumer price index is scheduled for Tuesday, while the producer price index will be announced on Wednesday.
Source (CNBC)
