Tag Archives: S&P 500

In June 2024, for the seventh consecutive meeting, the Federal Reserve decided to maintain the federal funds target range at 5.25%-5.50%, aligning with predictions. The Fed’s policymakers anticipate that until there is greater confidence in inflation sustainably approaching 2%, a reduction in rates will not be deemed appropriate. The current dot plot indicates that policymakers […]

The S&P Global US Composite PMI jumped to 54.4 in May, a significant increase from 51.3 in April, achieving its highest point since April 2022 and surpassing the anticipated figure of 51.1 based on initial data.   The service sector played a pivotal role in this rise, recording a PMI of 54.8 and demonstrating the largest […]

Retail sales in the United States remained flat in April 2024, showing no change from the previous month. This followed a downwardly revised gain of 0.6% in March and defied market expectations of a 0.4% rise, suggesting consumer spending has slightly eased.   Out of the 13 categories tracked, 7 posted declines. Significant drops were seen […]

Investors began the week with a cautious approach, turning their attention to the highly anticipated upcoming inflation report, which is believed to possibly indicate the start of cuts to interest rates. The sentiment led to a mixed performance in US stocks; the S&P 500 saw a slight decrease (-0.02%), while the Dow Jones broke its […]

The US labor market showed signs of cooling in April 2024, with employment growth decelerating and the unemployment rate ticking up. According to the latest data, the US economy added 175,000 jobs in April, falling short of market expectations of a 243,000 increase.   The figure also represents a significant slowdown compared to the upwardly revised […]

The Federal Reserve maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25%-5.50% during its May meeting for the sixth consecutive time. The decision was driven by ongoing inflationary pressures and a tight labor market, indicating a lack of progress in bringing inflation back down to the 2% target this year.   However, Chair Powell […]

The US economy expanded at an annualized rate of 1.6% in Q1 2024, the slowest growth since the contractions in the first half of 2022. The reading was lower than the previous quarter’s 3.4% growth and below the forecasted 2.5%. Consumer spending growth decreased to 2.5% from 3.3%, mainly due to a 0.4% fall in […]

The major U.S. stock indices experienced losses on Friday, April 19th  with the S&P 500 falling 1% to below 5,000 points and the Nasdaq plunging more than 2%. The sell-off was primarily driven by Netflix (NFLX.US), which exacerbated existing concerns related to geopolitical tensions and persistently high inflation rates.  Netflix shares plummeted more than 8% […]

On Friday, April 12th, Wall Street experienced a significant decline, with major stock indices recording substantial losses. The S&P 500 had its worst day since January, plunging 1.46%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 475 points (-1.24%), and the Nasdaq Composite Index slid 1.62%. The negative sentiment was heavily influenced by earnings reports from […]

On Tuesday, US stock markets exhibited a mixed closing, with investor sentiment swaying towards caution as the anticipation for the latest US inflation data heightened. Mild advances were seen in the S&P 500, creeping up by 0.14%, and the Nasdaq rose modestly by 0.32%. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a slight decline […]