NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–The indices on Wall Street hardly moved at the beginning of the week. After the record highs of the previous week – primarily in response to strong business figures from Nvidia – traders are talking about consolidation at the high levels. Investors’ eyes are already set on Thursday, when the PCE deflator for personal consumer spending is on the agenda. After the US inflation data, which was recently higher than expected, expectations about the timing of a first Interest rate cut However, it has already been pushed back. The expectation is that nothing will happen on the interest rate front before June.
The Dow Jones Index rose by 8 points to 39,140 points at midday (local time), the S&P 500 fell by 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2 percent. In terms of economic data, only new home sales for January were published. With an increase of 1.5 percent, these fell short of the forecast of an increase of 2.4 percent.
On the bond market, yields are recovering some of their losses from Friday. Despite the expectations for the first US interest rate cut being pushed back further recently, there had been a clear decline here. Some market participants see statements by the President of the New York Fed, John Williams, behind this. It estimates inflation will likely moderate toward 2 percent, paving the way for a cut in U.S. interest rates “later this year.” Williams also said that January’s high inflation readings were likely just a “blip.”
Amazon in the Dow
For the first time, Amazon shares will be traded as a member of the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Index. Walgreens Boots Alliance has to make room. The background is that Walmart is also splitting its shares at a ratio of 1:3 effective at the start of trading. Instead of one, the shareholders now have three shares in their portfolios, which makes the share price visually cheaper. This means that – due to the construction of the Dow – Walmart’s weight is also decreasing, for which the Amazon inclusion is intended to compensate. “The change reflects the evolving nature of the US economy and will increase the weight of retail and other business sectors in the DJIA,” explains index operator S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Amazon fell 0.1 percent after initial gains and Walgreens Boots Alliance fell 2.3 percent. Walmart rose split-adjusted by 1.9 percent to $59.61. The shares closed at $175.56 on Friday.
Broadcom (+1.0%) is little moved by the fact that the investment company KKR is buying the US chip manufacturer’s end-user computing division (EUC) for around $4 billion. Broadcom is selling the division it inherited as part of its $61 billion acquisition of software maker VMware in 2023. KKR are trending 0.8 percent higher.
Warren Buffett’s investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway fell by 1.0 percent after convincing business figures, giving up initial profits. Intuitive Machines plunged 37.1 percent after it was revealed that the lunar lander Odysseus tipped over while touching down on the lunar surface.
Alcoa fell by 4.8 percent, the aluminum company submitted a bid of 2.2 billion dollars for the Australian joint venture partner Alumina. After an increased dividend and the start of further share buybacks, Domino’s Pizza rose by 6.9 percent.
Freshpet increased by 16.8 percent. The pet food manufacturer exceeded market expectations in the fourth quarter.
Dollar gives in
The dollar index lost 0.1 percent. The PCE deflator is likely to reveal further falling inflation, making interest rate cuts likely soon. In the short term, the greenback is likely to fall further, according to traders.
Oil prices are recovering slightly from recent levies. Brent and WTI prices rise by up to 1.3 percent. Traders speak of falling demand while at the same time increasing supply outside the OPEC oil cartel. In addition, production at the Wafa oil field in the west of the country in Libya has been restarted.
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INDEX last +/- % absolute +/- % YTD
DJIA 39,139.95 +0.0% 8.42 +3.9%
S&P 500 5,086.00 -0.1% -2.80 +6.6%
Nasdaq Comp. 16,027.74 +0.2% 30.92 +6.8%
Nasdaq-100 17,995.85 +0.3% 58.24 +7.0%
US bonds
Maturity Yield Bp to VT Yield VT +/-Bp YTD
2 years 4.73 +6.1 4.67 30.9
5 years 4.32 +3.6 4.28 31.9
7 years 4.32 +3.3 4.28 34.6
10 years 4.29 +3.9 4.25 40.8
30 years 4.42 +4.5 4.37 44.5
FOREX last +/- % Mon, 8:28 Fri, 17:33 % YTD
EUR/USD 1.0852 +0.3% 1.0831 1.0825 -1.8%
EUR/JPY 163.67 +0.5% 162.88 162.74 +5.2%
EUR/CHF 0.9553 +0.2% 0.9537 0.9536 +3.0%
EUR/GBP 0.8560 +0.3% 0.8547 0.8541 -1.3%
USD/JPY 150.83 +0.3% 150.40 150.36 +7.1%
GBP/USD 1.2679 +0.0% 1.2673 1.2674 -0.4%
USD/CNH (Offshore) 7.2115 +0.1% 7.2059 7.2057 +1.2%
Bitcoin
BTC/USD 53,433.20 +3.3% 51,435.86 50,820.25 +22.7%
CRUDE OIL most recently VT-Settlem. +/-% +/- USD% YTD
WTI/Nymex 77.45 76.49 +1.3% +0.96 +7.0%
Brent/ICE 82.28 81.62 +0.8% +0.66 +7.0%
GAS VT Settlem. +/- EUR
Dutch TTF 23.85 23.49 +1.6% +0.37 -26.9%
METALS last day previous +/- % +/- USD % YTD
Gold (spot) 2,026.91 2,035.58 -0.4% -8.67 -1.7%
Silver (spot) 22.51 22.96 -2.0% -0.45 -5.3%
Platinum (spot) 880.20 903.70 -2.6% -23.50 -11.3%
Copper future 3.83 3.88 -1.4% -0.05 -1.7%
YTD based on the previous day’s closing level
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 26, 2024 12:27 ET (17:27 GMT)