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☆ Dow nears 40,000 as stocks look to close out first quarter on a high note
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

The S&P 500 was up 0.1% on Thursday, reaching a new record high. The Dow gained 47 points, or 0.1% also hitting a new high. Thursday was the final day of trading for March and the first quarter of 2024, wrapping up an outstanding quarter for US stocks. For the quarter, the S&P 500 is about 10.2% higher, its strongest first quarter since 2019. Tech stocks like Nvidia and the AI-craze have helped drive stocks higher in the first quarter.

Persons: Dow Organizations: New, New York CNN, Nasdaq, Tech, Nvidia, Federal Reserve Locations: New York

☆ Dollar firm after Fed comments; yen under close watch
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"There is no rush to cut the policy rate" right now, Waller said in a speech prepared for delivery before an Economic Club of New York gathering. The dollar index , a measure of the greenback against major peer currencies, ticked up in the wake of Waller's comments and last held mostly unchanged at 104.41. Traders await key U.S. core inflation figures due on Friday, following a bigger-than-expected jump in U.S. durable goods orders on Tuesday that has already boosted the dollar against the yen. The greenback reached 151.975 yen on Wednesday, its strongest against the yen since mid-1990. Japan intervened in the currency market three times in 2022, selling the dollar to buy yen, first in September and again in October as the yen slid towards a 32-year low of 152 to the dollar.

Persons: Christopher Waller, Waller, It's, Kyle Rodda, Rodda, Masato Kanda, Shunichi Suzuki, That's, Ray Attrill, Sterling, bitcoin Organizations: U.S, Federal Reserve, Federal, Economic, of New, Traders, Finance, National Australia Bank, Bank of Japan's Locations: of New York, Japan

☆ The Fed is going to make inflation worse with rate-cut promises, former central banker says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Fed could be making inflation even hotter with its promises of rate cuts. That's according to former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, who says the central bank is "goosing" the economy. AdvertisementThe Federal Reserve could be mucking up the economy with its promises that it will cut interest rates later this year, according to former central banker Kevin Warsh. Related stories"The Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve … are goosing this economy," Warsh said. "A Fed promising to cut rates even as asset prices are melting up."

Persons: Kevin Warsh, —, Warsh Organizations: Service, CNBC, Federal Reserve, Fed, Treasury Department, Federal

Mortgage interest rates have decreased in recent days after climbing last week. Mortgage interest rates aren't directly tied to the Fed rate. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage CalculatorUse our free mortgage calculator to see how today's mortgage rates will affect your monthly and long-term payments. Now that the Fed has paused hiking rates, mortgage rates have come down a bit. Once the Fed starts cutting rates, which is likely to happen this year, mortgage rates should fall even further.

Persons: Freddie Mac Organizations: Reserve, Zillow, Federal Reserve, Fed Locations: Chevron

Today, 30-year mortgage rates are hovering in the mid-6% range, according to Zillow data. As inflation slows and the Fed is able to lower rates, mortgage rates are expected to go down, too. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage Refinance Rates TodayMortgage type Average rate today This information has been provided by Zillow. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage CalculatorUse our free mortgage calculator to see how today's mortgage rates will affect your monthly and long-term payments. This is good news for mortgage rates — as inflation slows and the Federal Reserve is able to start cutting the federal funds rate, mortgage rates are expected to trend down as well.

Persons: Fannie Mae Organizations: Reserve, Zillow, Federal Reserve, Mortgage, Association, ARM Locations: Chevron

☆ Premarket stocks: Rate cut in June or July? What matters is the Fed wants to get started
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

[About 70% of investors now think a rate cut will occur in June, according to the CME FedWatch tool.] Goldman Sachs is currently predicting a 15% chance of recession over the next 12 months, down from 35% last year. Seeing that happen made us more confident that the Fed wouldn’t be forced to cause a recession in order to get inflation down. The reason we say 15% risk is because that is roughly the historical unconditional average. So a 15% recession rate is baseline for you, it will never go below that number?

Persons: Dow, Bell, David Mericle, Goldman Sachs, It’s, it’s, we’ve, I’m, Samantha Delouya, authority’s, ” United, Joe Biden Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Reserve, Dow Jones, Goldman Sachs ’, Bell, National Bureau of Economic, FAA, United, Federal Aviation Administration, United Airlines, United Boeing, ”, Federal Communications Commission, Program, Lawmakers, ACP, FCC Locations: New York, We’re, Medford , Oregon

Mortgage rates have been elevated over the last couple of months. Thirty-year mortgage rates have averaged 6.50% in March, just two basis points below where they were in February. Forecasters at the Mortgage Bankers Association, Fannie Mae, the National Association of Realtors, and elsewhere have been predicting that mortgage rates will start trending lower soon. The sooner the Fed can start cutting rates, the sooner mortgage rates will start to fall. This means your entire monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed 28% of your pre-tax monthly income.

Persons: Fannie Mae, they've, you'll Organizations: Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors, Federal Reserve, Zillow, Mortgage, Association, Sky Locations: Chevron

Though they spiked up earlier this week, mortgage rates have inched down over the past few days and are in line with last week's levels. Once the Fed cuts rates, mortgage rates should start to trend down, too. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage CalculatorUse our free mortgage calculator to see how today's mortgage rates would impact your monthly payments. 15-Year Fixed Mortgage Rates Back Below 6% (-0.10%)The average 15-year mortgage rate is 5.93%, down from last week. Mortgage rates also rose dramatically in 2023, though they started trending back down toward the end of the year.

Persons: they're, you'll, It's, refinance Organizations: Federal Reserve, Zillow, FHA Locations: Chevron

☆ European markets set to open lower as investors look ahead to Fed meeting
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

European markets are heading for a negative open Tuesday as global investors look ahead to the start of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting. Recent inflation reports could prompt the central bank to signal that interest rates will remain higher for longer than expected. Fed funds futures currently forecast a 99% likelihood that the Fed will leave benchmark interest rates unchanged this week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Meanwhile, it's been a dramatic night for Asia-Pacific markets after investors assessed the latest central bank monetary policy decisions from the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of Australia. The BOJ officially ended its negative interest rate policy at its March meeting, hiking interest rates for the first time in 17 years and raising its benchmark interest rate from -0.1% to a range of 0% to 0.1%.

Persons: it's Organizations: U.S, U.S . Federal, Bank of Japan, Reserve Bank of Australia Locations: U.S ., Asia, Pacific

The announcement is unlikely to have much of an impact on mortgage rates, but commentary coming out of the meeting might. If Powell says that the Fed still believes that inflation is coming down and that it just wants to see more data before it starts cutting rates, mortgage rates might not move much. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage Refinance Rates TodayMortgage type Average rate today This information has been provided by Zillow. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage CalculatorUse our free mortgage calculator to see how today's mortgage rates will affect your monthly and long-term payments. This is good news for mortgage rates — as inflation slows and the Federal Reserve is able to start cutting the federal funds rate, mortgage rates are expected to trend down as well.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, Fannie Mae Organizations: Federal, Fed, Zillow, Federal Reserve, Mortgage, Association, ARM Locations: Chevron

☆ Gold holds ground as investors seek direction from Fed
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An employee arranges one kilogram gold bars for a photograph in Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan. 13, 2016. Gold held steady on Tuesday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting this week, which could offer further clues on the timing of likely interest rate cuts this year. With the Fed widely expected to hold rates steady at the end of its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, the market is awaiting policymakers' updated economic and interest rate projections. Gold prices fell 1% last week after data showed that U.S. consumer prices increased solidly in February and producer prices rose more than expected, reducing hopes around early Fed rate cuts. Traders are currently pricing in an about 51% chance of a Fed rate cut in June, compared with 56% on Monday, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Persons: Gold, Jerome Powell, Tim Waterer Organizations: U.S . Federal Reserve, Fed, KCM, PPI, Traders Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, Japan, England, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, Mexico, Taiwan, Brazil, Indonesia

☆ The Fed still probably isn't ready to give Americans the interest rate cuts they're hoping for
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Still, the door is open for rate cuts later in the year. AdvertisementThe nation's central bank is gearing up to make its second interest rate decision of the year, and it probably won't be the relief many Americans want to see. AdvertisementStill, while Americans may not see an interest rate cut this month, they could see one later on this year. But I still think interest rate cuts of one form or the other are likely this year." A group of Democratic lawmakers are also urging Powell to develop a timeline in which Americans can expect to see rate cuts.

Persons: Jerome Powell, —, Mark Hamrick, Hamrick, Powell, there's, we've, Nick Bunker, Julia Pollak, Pollak, Congressional Progressive Caucus — Organizations: Federal, Service, Fed, Financial Services Committee, North America, Democratic, Congressional Progressive Caucus

☆ Dollar steady, yen soft as BOJ policy shift beckons
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this photo illustration, a person is seen holding 100, 50, and 5 U.S. dollar bills in his hand. Tom Kenny, senior international economist at ANZ, said an end to negative interest rate policy is likely to reflect a 10-basis-point hike taking the current policy rate from -0.1% to 0.0%. "We expect this to be a dovish hike with the BOJ unlikely to signal its intention to hike again soon." The focus has shifted to whether the policymakers will make any changes to their projections of rate cuts, or dot plots for this year. The Fed in December projected 75 basis points, or three rate cuts, of easing in 2024.

Persons: Kazuo Ueda, Tom Kenny, Powell, bitcoin Organizations: U.S, Bank of Japan, Federal Reserve, ANZ, Beyond, Reuters, New Zealand, Bank of England, Fed, NatWest Locations: Japan, United States, England, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Asia, Beyond Japan, Australia's, U.S, cryptocurrencies

☆ Stock futures are little changed as investors digest news from Nvidia's AI conference: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Stock futures were little changed on Monday after a bounce back in tech shares ahead of Nvidia's inaugural artificial intelligence conference. Heading into Tuesday, Nvidia shares showed signs of cooling as investors shift their focus to the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting. Futures tied to the S&P 500 slipped 0.12%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 8 points, or 0.02%. AI leader Nvidia pulled back roughly 1% in extended trading, as investors evaluate the news from its first-ever GTC Conference. Wall Street is awaiting guidance on the path forward for monetary policy as the Federal Reserve begins its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday.

Persons: Jensen Huang, Blackwell, iPhones, Sam Millete Organizations: Nvidia, Federal, Dow Jones Industrial, Nasdaq, Conference, Tech, Google, Apple, Bloomberg, stoke, Federal Reserve, Commonwealth Financial Network

☆ Time is running out for interest rate cuts, market forecaster Jim Bianco warns before Fed meeting
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Stephanie Landsman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

On the eve of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, Wall Street forecaster Jim Bianco believes the central bank will likely stay on hold until next year. For Fed Chair Jerome Powell to cut this spring, the economy would have to dramatically weaken, according to Bianco. This week's Fed meeting comes almost exactly two years after policymakers started their rate hike campaign. It appears Wall Street may be on notice. In January, Bianco told "Fast Money" the 10-year yield would hit 5.5% this year.

Persons: Jim Bianco, CNBC's, Jerome Powell, Bianco, It's, it's, That's, we're Organizations: Federal, Wall, Bianco Research, Boeing, Fed Locations: It's

☆ Stock futures are little changed as investors await fresh Fed guidance: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Traders work on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, August 8, 2022. Stock futures were little changed on Sunday, as Wall Street awaits guidance on monetary policy from the Federal Reserve this week. Futures tied to the S&P 500 ticked up 0.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures hovered near the flatline, while Nasdaq-100 futures added 0.2%. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, Fed funds futures are currently pricing in a 99% likelihood that the Fed will leave benchmark interest rates unchanged this week.

Persons: Quincy Krosby Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Stock, Federal Reserve, Dow Jones Industrial, Nasdaq, Dow, Fed, Fed telegraphs, Financial, chipmaker Micron Technology, FedEx Locations: New York

☆ Premarket stocks: Investors are on cloud nine. That could be a bad sign
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Unsurprisingly, several flashing indicators suggest that investors are feeling good about the market:• CNN’s Fear & Greed Index: The indicator, which measures seven barometers of market sentiment including the VIX, Wall Street’s most well-known measure of expected stock volatility, is in “greed” territory. Market sentiment is often seen as a contrarian indicator. That means that when the herd is optimistic, money managers take it as a sign that stocks will fall, and vice versa. A closely watched gauge of US wholesale inflation rose at its fastest pace in months, according to new data released Thursday. In February, car sales climbed 1.8%, purchases of electronics and appliances increased 1.5% and sales at restaurants rose 0.4%.

Persons: • Charles Schwab, Yardeni, “, Alicia Wallace, Price, Gus Faucher, Read, Bryan Mena Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Intelligence, Research, Bureau of Labor Statistics, PPI, of Labor Statistics, PNC Financial Services, Retail, Commerce Department, Gas Locations: New York

☆ Gold, bitcoin and stocks hit record highs this week. Then came inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The S&P 500 declined 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1%. Turbulence for airline stocksAirline stocks have also been pummeled this week, as years of safety issues at Boeing continue to plague the industry. The NYSE Arca Global Airline index, which tracks the performance of major American and overseas airlines, is on track to end the week 2.2% lower. But Liz Young, head of investment strategy at SoFi, notes that the S&P 500 hasn’t seen a one-day decline of 2% or more since last February. AI up-and-comer Super Micro Computer will join the benchmark S&P 500 index on Monday.

Persons: New York CNN — Stocks, shrugged, Gold, Bitcoin, Dow, Price, ”, Ken Tjonasam, Max, Robert Jordan, Liz Young, Young, “ It’s, What’s, Jensen Huang Organizations: New, New York CNN —, Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, Dow, Global, Airline, Boeing, Latam, Wall, Southwest Airlines, Airbus, “ Boeing, ”, JPMorgan Chase, NYSE Arca, Nvidia, Computer, Investors, Federal, Market Committee, Fed, National Association of Home Builders, Census Bureau, National Association of Realtors Locations: New York, Australia, New Zealand, Wells Fargo

☆ Dollar advances as U.S. inflation data weighs on rates outlook
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The dollar was firm on Friday and set to snap a three-week losing streak as hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data stoked worries about when and by how much the Federal Reserve would start cutting interest rates this year. The dollar was firm on Friday and set to snap a three-week losing streak as hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data stoked worries about when and by how much the Federal Reserve would start cutting interest rates this year. Data on Thursday showed the U.S. producer price index for final demand rose 0.6% in February above the 0.3% rise economists had forecast. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six rivals, was 0.058% higher at 103.44, after rising 0.55% on Thursday. In other currencies, the Australian dollar fell 0.18% to $0.657, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.39% to $0.611.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Ryan Brandham, Carol Kong, bitcoin Organizations: Federal Reserve, Risk, Traders, Bank of, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, New Zealand Locations: U.S, North America

☆ Stock futures are little changed after strong inflation data spooks investors: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Stock futures are near flat Thursday night as investors analyzed the fresh batch of corporate earnings and attempted to look beyond the latest inflation reading. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were also both little changed. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each fell around 0.3%. Bond yields climbed in the session — with the benchmark 10-year Treasury reaching 4.29% — as investors wondered if the recent economic data was too strong for the Federal Reserve to loosen monetary policy. Investors will watch Friday morning for economic data on topics such as consumer sentiment, import prices and industrial production.

Persons: Dow, Mark Luschini, Janney Montgomery Scott, Luschini Organizations: Dow Jones Industrial, Nasdaq, Adobe, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Dow

☆ Nearly everyone has given up on their recession call, and that makes the outlook 'dangerously reminiscent' of 2007, SocGen says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Recession views are dangerously similar to those in 2007, SocGen's Albert Edwards said. Soft landing or no landing outlooks are growing on Wall Street as the US appears on solid economic footing. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Those signs appear lost on many other market commentators, who have dialed back their recession views in the last few months. "All this is (dangerously) reminiscent of 2007, when all around were telling me I was wrong and should give up calling that much-delayed recession," he later added.

Persons: SocGen's Albert Edwards, Edwards, —, Société, Albert Edwards, That's, Doom, Nouriel Roubini Organizations: Service, Chicago, York Fed's Survey, Consumer, National Federation of Independent Business, National Association of Business, Fed, Investor Locations: York

☆ Top CFOs are as bullish on the Dow and as dovish on the Fed as they've been in a long time: CNBC survey
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

That's according to the CNBC CFO Council Survey for the first quarter, which shows a dramatic year-over-year change in the view from CFOs about the Federal Reserve's inflation battle. The percentage of CFOs who think the Fed will be able to achieve a soft landing has reached a five-quarter high, at 48%. According to the Q1 survey, the largest percentage of CFO respondents (44%) do not expect a rate cut until September. In the Q1 CFO survey, equal groups of just under 25% of CFO respondents think the cuts will begin in June or July. Despite CFOs expecting a slower moving Fed than traders, the latest quarterly view represents an increase in dovish expectations.

Persons: CFOs Organizations: CNBC, Survey, CPI Locations: U.S, CFOs

☆ Top banking analysts see 3 reasons why Wells Fargo stock should push even higher this year
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Wells Fargo 's run of form continued Wednesday, with shares hitting another 52-week high. Wall Street analysts see more upside ahead for what's been the best-performing major U.S. bank stock in 2024. Shares of Wells Fargo have surged nearly 18% year-to-date, compared to the S & P 500 's 8.5% advance over the same stretch. Higher for longer Both analysts said a higher-for-longer interest rate environment creates a favorable setup for a money center bank like Wells Fargo. As the expectations for Fed cuts this year have been coming down, Wells Fargo stock has been climbing.

Persons: Wells, what's, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley —, —, RBC Capital Market's Gerard Cassidy, Piper Sandler's Scott Siefers, Jim Cramer, RBC's Cassidy, Cash, Cassidy, Piper's Siefers, Siefers, Charlie Scharf, Scharf, that's, Jerome Powell, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Justin Sullivan Organizations: Wall, Peers, JPMorgan, Wells, CNBC, RBC Capital, Federal Reserve, Wells Fargo, Capital, Getty Locations: Wells Fargo, Wells, Basel

☆ The stock market rally has broadened out from the Magnificent Seven. Here's why
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Over the past month, a notable shift in performance has occurred among the 11 sectors of the S & P 500 . Understanding the S & P 500 sectors The 11 sectors of the S & P 500 represent the various industries powering the U.S. economy. For example, last year, the market-cap-weighted S & P 500 gained 24.2% while the equal-weighted index advanced only 11.6% in 2023. .SPXEW .SPX 1M mountain The equal-weighted S & P 500 over the past month compared with the S & P 500. Encouragingly, overall earnings estimates for the S & P 500 also have gone up recently.

Persons: —, It's, Wells, Linde, Russell, Labor Department —, Genuity, Canaccord, Encouragingly, Eaton, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Victor J Organizations: Big Tech, Financial, Coterra Energy, DuPont, Tech, Communication Services, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Club, Tesla, Linde, Wolfe Research, Labor Department, Fed, RBC Capital Markets, RBC, Bank of America, Eaton, CNBC, Visitors, New York Stock Exchange, Blue, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: Tuesday's, U.S

Mortgage rates ticked up a little bit in response to Tuesday's slightly hotter-than-expected Consumer Price Index data. But mortgage rates probably won't drop substantially until we get more data showing that inflation is continuing to slow. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage Refinance Rates TodayMortgage type Average rate today This information has been provided by Zillow. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage CalculatorUse our free mortgage calculator to see how today's mortgage rates will affect your monthly and long-term payments. This is good news for mortgage rates — as inflation slows and the Federal Reserve is able to start cutting the federal funds rate, mortgage rates are expected to trend down as well.

Persons: they're, they've, Fannie Mae's, Fannie Mae Organizations: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve, Zillow, Mortgage, Association, ARM Locations: Chevron

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