- US stocks edged up on Monday as investors prep for inflation data this week.
- Equities tumbled last week as markets readjusted interest rate expectations.
- Bond yields continued to climb to start the week as traders see smaller odds of a June rate cut.
US stocks rose slightly ob Monday as investors tried to rebound from last week's volatile run.
Markets suffered a meaningful pullback last week as investors checked their expectations for rapid interest rate cuts this year, a scenario made less certain by a slew of strong economic readings. The latest data defying rate-cut forecasts was Friday's jobs report, which saw 303,000 jobs added in March. The reading highlights the strength of the labor market and the broader economy, complicating the outlook for the Fed to cut rates at the risk of inflation rebounding again.
This week, investors will be focused on Wednesday's consumer price index report as a key indicator of where interest rate policy may go. But with stocks seeing little upside and Treasury yields still rising, many appearing to be adjusting for a higher-for-longer monetary regime.
"Since the beginning of this year, the timing of the first US rate cut moved from March to June. But now there's a growing feeling that there may not be anything until the Fed's September monetary policy meeting," David Morrison, Senior Market Analyst at Trade Nation, wrote Monday morning.
Fed officials are also set to speak in the coming days, including New York Fed President John Williams and Boston President Susan Collins, who will both speak on Thursday. Markets will also be parsing the minutes of the March policy meeting, set to publish on Wednesday.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Monday:
- S&P 500: 5,210.41, up 0.1%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 38,977.79, up 0.2% (+75.91 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 16,276.01, up 0.15%
Here's what else happened today:
- Wall Street is increasingly unsure of interest rate cuts this year.
- "Big Short" investor Steve Eisman gives four reasons why infrastructure is his next big bet.
- Gold can punch past its record high with 30% more upside ahead, economist David Rosenberg said,
- Nvidia's waning demand and high valuations may mean its best market days may soon be over, analysts say.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil slid 0.8% to $86.84 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell by 0.3% to $90.92 a barrel.
- Gold was about flat at $2,339.79 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield rose five basis points to 4.428%.
- Bitcoin gained 4.1% to $72,204.