S&P 500 May Regain Ground Following Three-Day Losing Streak
March 27 2024 - 9:17AM
IH Market News
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher
open on Wednesday, with stocks poised to attempt another rebound
following pullback seen late in the previous session.
Traders may once again look to pick up stocks at somewhat
reduced levels after early buying interest faded over the course of
Tuesday’s session.
The major averages spent much of yesterday’s session in positive
territory before coming under pressure in the final hour of
trading, with the Dow and the S&P 500 closing lower for the
third straight day.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, with
a lack of major U.S. economic data likely to keep some traders on
the sidelines.
Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of
the release of reports on weekly jobless claims, Chicago business
activity and pending home sales on Thursday.
A report on personal income and spending that includes readings
on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve is also
due to be released while the markets are closed on Good Friday.
The holiday will also see Fed Chair Jerome Powell participate in
a moderated discussion before the Federal Reserve Bank of San
Francisco Macroeconomics and Monetary Policy Conference.
Stocks saw modest strength throughout much of the trading day on
Tuesday before coming under pressure in the final hour of the
session. The major averages all moved to the downside, finishing
the day in negative territory.
After climbing by more than 100 points earlier in the day, the
Dow ended the session down 31.31 points or 0.1 percent at
39,282.33. The Nasdaq also fell 68.77 points or 0.4 percent to
16,315.70 and the S&P 500 dipped 14.61 points or 0.3 percent to
5,203.58.
The late-day weakness on Wall Street may have reflected concerns
about the economic impact of the indefinite suspension of vessel
traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore.
Vessel traffic was suspended after a cargo ship crashed into a
pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning,
leading to the bridge’s collapse.
Networking stocks showed a notable move to the downside over the
course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Networking Index down
by 1.2 percent.
A pullback by the price of crude oil also weighed on energy
stocks, with the Philadelphia Oil Service and the NYSE Arca Oil
Index falling by 1.2 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
Utilities, semiconductor and telecom stocks also saw some
weakness on the day, while strength remained visible among computer
hardware stocks.
Data storage company Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) surged by
7.4 percent after Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the
company’s stock to Upgrade from Overweight.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a
report this morning showing a notable increase in new orders for
U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of February.
The report said durable goods orders jumped by 1.4 percent in
February after plummeting by a revised 6.9 percent in January.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to shoot up by 1.3
percent compared to the 6.2 percent slump that had been reported
for the previous month.
Orders for transportation equipment led the way higher, surging
by 3.3 percent in February after plunging by 18.3 percent in
January.
Excluding the rebound in orders for transportation equipment,
durable goods orders climbed by 0.5 percent in February after
falling by 0.3 percent in January. Economists had expected a 0.4
percent increase.
Meanwhile, the Conference Board released a separate report
showing a slight deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in the
month of March.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slipped
to 104.7 in March from a downwardly revised 104.8 in February.
Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to come in
unchanged compared to the 106.7 originally reported for the
previous month.
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