Stocks struggled to find a direction today as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the S&P 500 (SPX) fell 0.21% and 0.03%, respectively, while the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) gained 0.12%. Earlier today, Ex-Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein expressed optimism about a ‘soft landing’ for the U.S. economy amidst concerns of a recession. He posted on Twitter that current worrisome economic conditions are consistent with a slowdown but not a recession.
Blankfein pointed out that despite signals of a recession from economists and inverted yield curves, the labor market remains tight and economic growth is anticipated in the near term. He also highlighted the revival in the housing market, even amidst higher borrowing costs, as housing data shows strong home prices, dwindling inventory, and increasing demand.
Blankfein acknowledged that despite inflation slowing from its peak in June 2022, it remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. This, along with robust data in some economic sectors, indicates further rate hikes from the Fed, which could negatively impact the economy. At a recent ECB Forum, Federal Reserve chief, Jerome Powell, confirmed that the rate-hiking path is not yet over, emphasizing that there’s still room for more monetary tightening, despite the policy already being restrictive.
Last Updated at 2:15PM EST
Stocks remain mixed within the final couple of hours of today’s trading session. As of 2:15 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the S&P 500 (SPX) are down 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) is up 0.1%. In addition, WTI crude oil is higher today, as it hovers around the mid-$69 per barrel range. However, the commodity’s recent weakness has caused prices at the pump to decline when compared to last week.
Indeed, the national average for regular gas was last $3.556 per gallon, down from last week’s reading of $3.581. The highest prices can be found in California, where prices are substantially higher than the national average, at $4.83 per gallon. On the other hand, Mississippi is the state with the lowest gas prices, at $2.983 per gallon.
Last updated: 11:50AM EST
Stock indices are mixed so far in today’s trading as they have reversed from their earlier losses. Indeed, at the time of writing, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) and the S&P 500 (SPX) are up 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is down 0.2%.
Last updated: 9:30AM EST
Stocks opened lower on Wednesday morning, dragged down by the news that the U.S. could be looking at imposing more restrictions on chip exports to China. This dragged down the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) by 0.33% while the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are down by 0.4% and 0.33%, respectively, at 9:30 a.m., EST, June 28.
The latest round of economic data indicated that the trade deficit in the U.S. narrowed more than expected, with a trade deficit of $91.13 billion as compared to consensus estimates of a trade deficit of $92.5 billion. Exports of goods in the month of May went down month-over-month by $1 billion to $162.8 billion, while imports ticked lower by $6.9 billion month-over-month to $254 billion.
Disappointingly, retail inventories went up by 7% year-over-year to $778.7 billion in May, while wholesale inventories edged down month-over-month by 0.1% to $912.9 billion in May but were up year-over-year by 3.6%.
First published: 4:55AM EST
U.S. Futures are in the red this morning, sort of taking a breather from the tech rally witnessed yesterday. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are down 0.37%, 0.19%, and 0.01%, respectively, at 4:20 a.m., EST, June 28.
The three major indices are set to finish the month and the first half of 2023 in the positive zone. The Nasdaq Composite is surprisingly coming off an impressive double-digit positive gain for the first six months. The recent AI-driven rally is defying the conventional norms of how tech stocks perform in a high-interest-rate environment. Five-star analyst Daniel Ives of Wedbush calls the breakthrough the “fourth industrial revolution,” set to change the fundamental way that people live. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is considering new restrictions on the export of AI chips to China next month, citing concerns about their unlawful usage in developing destructive weapons.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak today at the ECB Forum on Central Banks 2023, held in Portugal. Traders worldwide are piqued to hear his thoughts on the global economic outlook in general and the future of the U.S. monetary policy in particular. Markets have digested the possibility of two more interest rate hikes in the U.S. this year. Yet, a reiteration from Powell on the same could push the markets into the negative zone today.
In the meantime, chip maker Micron (NASDAQ:MU) will report its Q3FY23 financial results today after the market closes. Analysts are optimistic about MU’s solid performance in the second half of 2023. In other news, Swiss banking giant UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) is trimming its workforce following the forced government-backed takeover of failing bank Credit Suisse earlier this month. And Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST), a department store that runs membership-only outlets across the U.S. and beyond, has found a way to break the chain of membership card sharing by checking the IDs of members at the self-checkout. Also, Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) announced the closure of 450 stores across the U.S. and U.K., along with a soft outlook for the upcoming year.
Elsewhere, European indices are trading in the green on Wednesday. Yesterday, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde reiterated that inflation was still running high in the eurozone and that markets must expect more rate hikes in the future.
Asia-Pacific Markets End Mixed
Asia-Pacific indices finished the trading session mixed today, following a mixed set of economic data from various nations. Australia’s inflation figure for May came in cooler than expected at 5.6%, pushing up Australian stocks. However, Chinese stocks sank as the country’s industrial profits declined by 18.8% in the five months ending May 2023.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index finished higher by 0.12%, while China’s Shanghai Composite closed near the flatline, and the Shenzhen Component index ended down by 0.47%.
On the contrary, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices ended up by 2.02% and 1.99%, respectively.
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