NEW YORK, March 22 ― Wall Street's main stock indexes struggled for direction today, though they were on track for strong weekly gains as investors cheered the Federal Reserve's rate-easing stance.
All three main US indexes hit fresh record closing highs yesterday as chip stocks rallied after Micron Technology's upbeat forecast and the Fed signalled it was still on track for three interest-rate cuts this year.
Traders now see a 71 per cent chance of the first rate cut hitting in June, from 56 per cent at the start of this week, according to the CME's FedWatch Tool.
“With summer rate cuts now becoming somewhat more certain and a further recovery in bond yields looking unlikely, policymakers have provided fresh impetus to the bull market,” said Raffi Boyadjian, lead investment analyst at XM.
Investors will also be closely monitoring commentary from a host of central bankers expected later in the day for further cues on the central bank's monetary policy trajectory.
The blue-chip Dow ended yesterday less than 1 per cent away from its first-ever 40,000-mark. Along with the benchmark S&P 500, the Dow was on track to its best weekly performance so far this year.
Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was set to notch its best week since mid-January.
At 9.37am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 10.58 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 39,770.79, the S&P 500 was up 0.66 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 5,242.19, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 9.50 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 16,392.33.
Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading lower, with consumer discretionary down 1.0 per cent.
Most rate-sensitive megacap growth and technology stocks eased in early trading.
Tesla led losses, down 3.3 per cent, following a report that the EV maker has reduced car production at its plant in China.
Nevertheless, the EV maker and many of the other market leaders were set for strong weekly gains. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has gained nearly 3 per cent so far this week.
Nike shed 8.0 per cent after the world's largest sportswear maker warned that its revenue in the first half of fiscal 2025 would shrink by a low-single-digit percentage, as it scales back on franchises to save costs.
Lululemon Athletica forecast annual revenue and profit below expectations as demand wanes for the apparel retailer's premium athleisure, mainly in North America, sending its shares tumbling 14.8 per cent.
FedEx jumped 8.7 per cent after the company beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit and operating margin in the parcel delivery firm's largest unit, Express, rose 2.5 per cent in the February fiscal quarter from 1.2 per cent a year ago.
Digital World Acquisition gained 4.4 per cent ahead of its shareholders' vote to approve the blank-check firm's merger with former US President Donald Trump's media and technology company.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.21-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.23-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 37 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 41 new highs and 23 new lows. ― Reuters
