Stocks finished higher Tuesday, with the Nasdaq closing at a fresh record high, as investors reacted to one economic report while waiting for another.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 126.60 points, or 0.32%, to finish at 39,558.11.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.48% to 5,246.68, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.75% to finish at 16,511.18 and topping the March 22 close of 16,428.82.
The Commerce Department's reading of April producer price inflation came in hotter than expected.
Stocks turned lower at first, but rebounded as the March wholesale prices reading was revised down to show a 0.1% decline, which helped ease concerns about high prices.
Updated at 12:12 PM EDT
Holding on
Stocks are mixed heading into the afternoon session, with Home Depot dragging the Dow 5 points lower and the S&P 500 marked 3 points, or 0.05% higher from last night's close.
Oracle (ORCL) shares, meanwhile, jumped 3.1% to $119.98 each following a report from The Information that Elon Musk's AI startup, xAI, is nearing a $10 billion cloud deal with the software group.
Elon Musk’s owned xAI has been talking to Oracle $ORCL executives about spending $10 billion to rent cloud servers from the company over a period of years - The Information pic.twitter.com/g7qeFLVz1a
— Evan (@StockMKTNewz) May 14, 2024
Updated at 10:05 AM EDT
Powell patience
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, speaking at finance event in Amsterdam, conceded there has been a "lack of further progress" in slowing inflation over the first three months of the year, but noted that the economy continues to outperform both in terms of growth and labor market strength.
He also said that he isn't as confident now, as he was earlier this year, that inflation will turn back towards the Fed's preferred 2% inflation target.
"We need to be patient and let the current restrictive policy do its work," Powell told the Foreign Bankers Association.
Fed’s Powell: US Economy Has Been Performing Very Well, Has A Very Strong Labor Market
— LiveSquawk (@LiveSquawk) May 14, 2024
- Households Are In Good Shape Financially
- Consumer Spending, Business Investment Strong
Updated at 9:46 AM EDT
Modest open
The S&P 500 was marked 5 points, or 0.1% higher in the opening minutes of trading, with the Dow up 62 points and the Nasdaq edging 30 points, or 0.18%, into the green.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (May 14, 2024)$SPY +0.08% 🟩$QQQ -0.03% 🟥$DJI +0.12% 🟩$IWM +1.33% 🟩 pic.twitter.com/Sd5bx4dMmK
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) May 14, 2024
Updated at 9:40 AM EDT
Amazon shock
Amazon (AMZN) shares moved lower in early trading after the tech and retail giant said Adam Selipsky, who leads the group's profitable Web Services division, will step down next month.
Selipsky replaced CEO Andy Jassy was AWS CEO in 2021, when Jassy moved to the head role following the retirement of founder Jeff Bezos. Selipsky will be replaced by Matt Garman, the division's senior vice president.
Amazon shares were marked 0.74% lower in early trading and changing hands at 185.20 each following news of Selipsky's departure.
BREAKING: AWS CEO Adam Selipsky is stepping down. Matt Garman named new CEO effective June 3. $AMZN lower
— Ed Ludlow (@EdLudlow) May 14, 2024
Updated at 9:09 AM EDT
September rate bets
Traders are holding onto bets that the Fed will begin the first of likely two 2024 rate cuts in September, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, despite the hotter-than-expected April PPI reading.
"Inflation and the Fed are less important than growth, and companies have adjusted to the new reality of higher prices and continue to look for technology solutions to manage for profit,” said Scott Helfstein, SVP and head of investment strategy at Global X
“The last mile on inflation was always going to be the hardest, but we should be comfortable with these numbers,” he added.
Updated at 8:37 AM EDT
Hot inflation
The Commerce Department's reading of April producer price inflation came in hotter than expected, with final demand rising 0.5% on the month, compared to the Street's 0.3% estimate, and 3.1% on the year.
Stocks turned lower on the reading, with the S&P 500 indicated to open 7 points lower and the Dow called 22 points to the downside. The Nasdaq is called 45 points lower.
Benchmark 10-year note yields jumped 5 basis points to 4.516% while 2-year notes jumped to 4.872%.
The U.S. dollar index, meanwhile, jumped 0.14% higher to 105.33 against a basket of its global peers.
❖ U.S PPI (MOM) (APR) ACTUAL: 0.5% VS 0.2% PREVIOUS; EST 0.3%
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) May 14, 2024
❖ U.S PPI (YOY) (APR) ACTUAL: 2.2% VS 2.1% PREVIOUS; EST 2.2%
❖ U.S CORE PPI (MOM) (APR) ACTUAL: 0.5% VS 0.2% PREVIOUS; EST 0.2%
❖ U.S CORE PPI (YOY) (APR) ACTUAL: 2.4% VS 2.4% PREVIOUS; EST 2.4%
Updated at 8:11 AM EDT
GameStop double
GameStop shares are set to open at the highest levels since the meme-stock frenzy of early 2021, with a premarket gain of around 93%.
AMC Entertainment AMC shares, meanwhile, were marked 97.1% higher at $10.23 each even after the theatre chain unveiled plans for a $250 million equity capital increase.
Related: GameStop surge continues, with AMC in tow, amid 'Roaring Kitty' meme rally
Check back for updates throughout the trading day
Stocks ended mixed yesterday, with the Nasdaq eking out a 0.29% advance and the Dow snapping its eight-day winning streak, as meme-stock mania dominated the headlines with a 74% surge in GameStop (GME) .
Shares in the money-losing videogame retailer were back on the move in premarket dealing, rising another 47%, as investors reacted to the first social-media messages in nearly three years from Keith Gill, an influential retail investor known online as Roaring Kitty.
Related: GameStop rockets, pounding short sellers, as 'Roaring Kitty' returns
In mainstream markets, however, focus will remain firmly on the inflation story: The Commerce Department will publish its official estimate of factory-gate prices prior to the start of trading and a host of Fed speakers, including Chairman Jerome Powell, are set to make public remarks throughout the trading session.
Powell is set to speak at the Foreign Bankers Association meeting in Amsterdam at 10 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time.
Today's Producer Price Index report, which is expected to show a modest uptick price pressures, will precede tomorrow's crucial April Consumer Price Index inflation report, which is expected to show an overall easing.
"Whilst the market expects headline CPI to fall only to 3.4%, from 3.5% last month, recent surveys have signaled rising inflation expectations amongst consumers, as the recent pickup in inflation feeds through to the consumer psyche, an effect which often becomes self-fulfilling," said Lindsay James, an investment strategist at London-based Quilter Investors.
"We are likely to hear more cautious messaging from the Federal Reserve as a result, in a blow to President Biden on a day when new polls have shown Donald Trump retains his lead in almost all the swing states,” he added.
Biden, meanwhile, unveiled a fresh round of tariffs aimed at around $18 billion of China-made imports, including electric vehicles, semiconductors and medical supplies that his administration said were "underpriced due to unfair practices".
Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts suggest a 3-point move to the upside for the S&P 500 and a 37-point gain for the Dow.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 10 points higher.
Home Depot (HD) shares were a notable early mover, slipping 0.9% after the home improvement retailer posted a mixed set of first-quarter earnings including a big decline in same-store sales.
Walmart (WMT) shares were marked 0.15% higher ahead of its first-quarter-earnings report, slated for May 16. Analysts expect a bottom-line profit of 54 cents a share on revenue of $157.83 billion.
More Wall Street Analysts:
- Analyst unveils new Nike price target ahead of big summer for sports
- Analysts weigh in on Google-parent Alphabet’s stock after cloud event
- Analysts revamp Disney stock price target after proxy fight
In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 was marked 0.05% higher in early Frankfurt trading, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.06% in London.
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.46% in Tokyo while the regionwide MSCI ex-Japan index was marked 0.23% higher into the close of trading.
Related: Single Best Trade: Wall Street veteran picks Palantir stock
