March 28, 2024

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Stocks mixed as Fed leaves rates unchanged, Biden’s address to Congress ahead

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U.S. equity markets were mixed Wednesday as traders sifted through earnings reports and took in the Federal Reserve’s announcement to leave rates near zero ahead of President Biden’s speech this evening. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 33943.28 -41.65 -0.12%
SP500 S&P 500 4200.22 +13.50 +0.32%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 14129.494168 +39.28 +0.28%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 80 points, or 0.24%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite was lower by 0.1%. 

With the Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate near zero while noting, “The path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus, including progress on vaccinations” as detailed in its statement. 

The Fed’s decision comes hours ahead of Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress, where he is expected to lay out his plans to raise the top corporate tax rate and capital gains tax on wealthy Americans in order to pay for his plans to spend trillions of dollars on infrastructure and families.

BIDEN SPEECH TO HIGHLIGHT SPENDING: HERE’S WHO PAYS

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
BA THE BOEING CO. 236.43 -6.27 -2.58%

In stocks, Dow Component Boeing Co.’s net loss narrowed in the three months through March as deliveries of its 737 Max jet resumed following the aircraft’s return to service. The quarterly loss was the sixth straight for the company. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 255.65 -6.32 -2.41%
GOOGL ALPHABET, INC. 2,393.01 +102.03 +4.45%

Fellow Dow member Microsoft Corp. beat on both the top and bottom lines as sales at its Azure cloud-computing unit grew 50% year over year. Google shares also hitting a record after sales hit over $55 billion, an increase of 34%.

GOOGLE SMASHES QUARTER

Rounding out the Dow, Visa Inc. topped Wall Street estimates as an online shopping boom helped offset weak travel demand. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
V VISA, INC. 233.61 +4.10 +1.79%

Elsewhere in earnings, Alphabet Inc. booked its second straight record quarterly profit, but warned search traffic and ad sales could slow as users return to their pre-pandemic lifestyles. The company said it will buy back $50 billion worth of shares. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
SBUX STARBUCKS CORP. 112.28 -3.87 -3.33%

Starbucks Corp. beat on earnings and missed on revenue as international markets were slow to recover from the pandemic. The coffee giant raised its 2021 outlook for earnings and revenue. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
AAPL APPLE, INC. 134.71 +0.32 +0.23%
F FORD MOTOR CO. 12.47 -0.03 -0.20%

Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Ford Motor Co. are among the companies scheduled to report after Wednesday’s closing bell. 

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 61 cents to $63.55 per barrel and gold fell $9.20 to $1,769.60 an ounce.  

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Overseas markets rallied across the board.

France’s CAC 40 paced the advance in Europe, trading up 0.6%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX 30 were higher by 0.41% and 0.38%, respectively. 

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.45%, China’s Shanghai Composite index rose 0.42% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 ticked up 0.21%. 

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