The stock market gained, erasing early losses ahead of the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's meeting this afternoon. The oil and utilities sectors were the top S&P sector gainers.
The Nasdaq composite was flat while the S&P 500 gained 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average led the major indexes, up 0.4%. The small-cap Russell 2000 index fell 0.5%.
Volume was higher on the Nasdaq and lower on the NYSE compared with the same time on Tuesday.
The Fed ends its two-day meeting with a statement at 2 p.m. ET today. Policymakers are expected to announce a half-point interest rate increase.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 33256.21 | +127.42 | +0.38 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4187.18 | +11.70 | +0.28 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 12557.48 | -6.28 | -0.05 |
| Russell 2000 | 187.57 | -0.92 | -0.49 | |
| IBD 50 | 32.39 | -0.43 | -1.31 | |
Last Update: 1:28 PM ET 5/4/2022 |
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In advance of the Fed statement, the U.S. Treasury announced changes to its debt auctions. The Treasury said it plans to make smaller reductions to the size of its fixed-rate note and bond auctions between May and July. The Treasury's announcement was broadly in line with investors' expectations, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Fed officials have indicated they'll trim their portfolio by $95 billion a month as part of a monetary tightening strategy.
Stock Market Dips As Yields Ease And Oil Prices Climb
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell 1 basis point to 2.98%. The price of crude oil rose 5% to $107.70 per barrel.
The energy and utilities sectors were the biggest gainers among the S&P sector ETFs. The Energy Select ETF and the Utilities Sector ETF both jumped 1.2%.
Liquefied natural gas producer and distributor Cheniere Energy gained 1.5% after it reported a loss of $865 million that included a one-time loss for derivatives losses. But sales for the first quarter of $7.5 billion easily beat analysts' forecasts. LNG shares briefly hit new highs today, breaking out of a flat base, but then retreated.
Hotel giant Marriott International reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings early Wednesday. Shares shot up more than 4% and briefly reached beyond a 179.40 buy point of a cup-with-handle base but quickly fell back and were trading at a gain of 0.7%.
The results come as a cooped-up U.S. population's enthusiasm for vacationing — for now — outweighs concerns about more expensive airfares, hotel rooms and basic goods like food and gas.
Earnings jumped to $1.25 a share. Revenue leapt 81% to $4.2 billion. Comparable systemwide constant dollar revenue per available room, or RevPAR, surged 96.5%, or 99.1% in the U.S. and Canada. Wall Street expected Marriott earnings of 90 cents per share, up from 10 cents a year ago. Revenue was seen jumping 80% to $4.17 billion.
Akamai Technologies reported first-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street targets. The earnings report sent AKAM stock plunging as the company lowered 2022 guidance.
The Cambridge, Mass.-based software company said Q1 earnings rose 1% to $1.39 an adjusted share. Akamai revenue climbed 7% to $904 million. Analysts expected Akamai earnings of $1.42 a share on revenue of $904 million for the period ended March 31. A year earlier, Akamai earned $1.38 a share on sales of $843 million.
Moderna Falls On Sales Guidance For Covid Shots
Moderna easily beat first-quarter views Wednesday, and the company retained its full-year outlook. The stock erased early gains and traded flat.
Despite a nearly $2 billion sales beat, Moderna restated its prediction for $21 billion in full-year advance purchase agreements for its two-shot Covid vaccine. The projection was just below Wall Street's call for $22.4 billion in 2022 sales.
After hitting a peak last August, Moderna stock has largely trended down. The stock is roughly keeping pace with its 50-day moving average, according to MarketSmith.com.
Advanced Micro Devices jumped 3.5% after the chip designer topped first-quarter estimates and raised guidance for the current quarter and full year. The stock is trying to bottom out after losing nearly half its value from the Nov. 30 peak.
Innovator IBD 50 ETF fell 1.2%.
In economic news, the ADP estimate of April job growth came in at 247,000. That's well below forecasts for nearly 400,000, according to Econoday. ADP tallied 479,000 new jobs in March. The report is a precursor to Friday's Labor Department report on payrolls. Nonfarm payrolls are expected to grow 400,000.
The final S&P Global service sector PMI Business Activity Index fell to 55.6 in April from 58.0 in March, although it was revised up from the initial estimate of 54.7. Higher wage, transportation and material costs drove up input prices.
"The sustained solid performance of the service sector points to GDP growth returning in the second quarter," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global. "It's clear that growth could be even stronger if activity was not still be constrained by supply chain bottlenecks and labor availability issues."
Follow Michael Molinski on Twitter @IMmolinski
