Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday, regaining ground following the sharp pullback seen in the previous session. The major averages have all moved back to the upside on the day.
The major averages have pulled back off their highs in recent trading but currently remain positive. The Nasdaq is up 106.78 points or 0.6 percent at 17,610.89, the S&P 500 is up 25.67 points or 0.5 percent at 5,640.33 and the Dow is up 204.48 points or 0.5 percent at 41,785.79.
The strength on Wall Street comes on the heels of the steep drop seen on Tuesday, which partly offset the significant rebound seen over the two previous sessions.
However, trading activity appears somewhat subdued ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement later this afternoon.
CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 99.0 percent chance the Fed will once again leave interest rates unchanged.
With the Fed almost universally expected to leave rates unchanged, traders will look to the accompanying statement as well as officials’ latest projections for clues about the outlook for rates.
The FedWatch Tool currently suggests the Fed is likely to leave rates unchanged again at its next meeting in early May, but the chances of a rate cut increase in June and July.
At the Fed’s most recent meeting in late January, the central bank left rates unchanged after it lowered rates by a total of 100 basis points or 1.0 percentage point over the three previous meetings, beginning with a 50 basis point cut last September.
Sector News
Airline stocks have shown a strong move back to the upside after seeing significant weakness on Tuesday, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index climbing by 1.7 percent.
Considerable strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Brokerage, oil producer and software stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while telecom stocks have moved to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched up by 0.1 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is just below the unchanged line and the German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly lower ahead of the Fed’s interest rate announcement. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.1 basis points at 4.302 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Higher Ahead Of Fed Announcement
2025-03-19 14:59:45
