Daily market review US
Investors had a positive start to the day after digesting the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March, with gains in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The total CPI increased 0.1% month-over-month, below expectations, and the year-over-year increase slowed to 5.0% from 6.0% in February. Core-CPI was in line with expectations and increased to 5.6% from 5.5% in February. However, the gains were short-lived as mega-cap stocks rolled over and Treasury yields also climbed. After a rebound, the market moved cautiously ahead of the release of the FOMC Minutes. The Minutes revealed that participants agreed that inflation remains too high and banking problems increased economic uncertainty, but all participants agreed that it was appropriate to raise the target range for the fed funds rate. Mega-cap stocks led a slide in the late afternoon, with the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF declining 0.6%. Investors may have been inclined to take some money off the table ahead of Q1 earnings reporting season, which is expected to produce conservative-sounding guidance.
Overall the market experienced a mixed day, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing slightly down by 0.02%, the Nasdaq down 0.51%, and the S&P 500 down 0.21%. The 10-year Treasury note experienced a slight increase of 1/32 to 3.42%. On the NYSE, advancing stocks numbered 1314 while declining stocks numbered 1566, with a total volume of 809 million. The Nasdaq saw 1703 stocks advance and 2761 decline, with a volume of 4.8 billion.
In terms of industries, the energy, industrials, materials, healthcare, and real estate sectors showed strength, while the consumer discretionary, communication services, and information technology sectors showed weakness.
Several factors influenced the day's trading. The core Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed a year-over-year acceleration in March, which impacted the market. Additionally, there was ongoing weakness in some mega-cap names, and a pullback in Treasury yields in response to the CPI report and Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes. The release of the FOMC minutes from the March 21-22 meeting, which indicated that the Fed is forecasting a mild recession, also led to increased selling.
Economic data for the day included a rise of 5.3% in the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index and a build of 0.597 million barrels in the weekly EIA Crude Oil Inventories. On Thursday, investors can expect to receive economic data on the March Producer Price Index, weekly initial jobless claims, and weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventories.