Wall Street Slips as Investors Await Fed Chair Powell's Interest Rate Speech; Disney Surges on Strong Earnings
The market is slowing down as investors wait for Fed Chair Powell's comments on interest rates. Wall Street is seeing some losses, and small-cap stocks are lagging behind. The S&P 500 is down 0.3% as we reach midday.
Signs of a fading Trump-led rally are emerging. Investors are evaluating the economic outlook and looking for clues about interest rates from Powell's upcoming speech. He’s set to speak in Dallas at 3 p.m. ET.
Recent inflation data has sent mixed signals. Consumer prices met expectations, while producer prices were slightly higher than forecasted. Both indicators showed a year-over-year increase in October.
Despite the inflation news, the market remains optimistic. There's an 80% chance that the Fed will cut rates in December.
As of midday, major indices on Wall Street are in the red. The S&P 500 is down 0.3%, and small-cap stocks are underperforming. The U.S. dollar index has ticked up 0.1%, even as Treasury yields have fallen. Bonds are outperforming stocks today, with the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF rising by 1.2%.
Gold is down 0.2%, while oil prices have increased by 0.2%. Bitcoin (BTC/USD) has also hit a bump, dropping by 1.8%.
Thursday’s Performance in Major US Indices and ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | Change % (1 day) |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 43,884.60 | -0.2% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 20,986.66 | -0.2% |
| S&P 500 | 5,969.78 | -0.3% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,345.60 | -1.0% |
According to Benzinga Pro data, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is down 0.3% to $595.18. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) has eased 0.2% to $438.76. The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (QQQ) slipped 0.4% to $510.28. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) tumbled 1% to $232.71. On a positive note, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) rose 0.2%, while the Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) lagged behind, down 1.5%.
Thursday’s Stock Movers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) saw a nice bump, rising by 7% after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results.
Other stocks reacting to earnings reports include:
- Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), down over 2%
- Brookfield Corp. (BN), up 0.9%
- Talen Energy Corp. (TLN), up 0.9%
- Nu Holdings Ltd. (NU), down 7.5%
- Tetra Tech Inc. (TTEK), down over 10%
- StandardAero Inc. (SARO), down 5.5%
Several companies are set to report their earnings after the market closes on Thursday, including Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT), Globant S.A. (GLOB), AST SpaceMobile Inc. (ASTS), and Post Holdings Inc. (POST).
Stay tuned for more updates and insights!