US Stocks Halt Pullback Ahead of Fed
US stocks inched higher on Wednesday, pausing the week's pullback as markets assessed how the economy may fare against higher interest rates. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3% from six-week lows yesterday, and the Dow was flat. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by 25bps later in the meeting, although the Summary of Economic Projections is likely to show a fragmented FOMC as uncertain outlooks spark disagreements on policy and forward guidance. Hawkish concerns were further consolidated with the release of strong retail sales and soaring import inflation. Chip producers and hardware companies extended yesterday's rebound after concerns over AI safety risks voiced by Anthropic and OpenAI jeopardized the momentum of soaring hyperscaler capital expenditure. Intel, Marvell, and Dell gained over 3%. In turn, banks, retail, and pharmaceutical companies were flat.
US stocks inched higher on Wednesday, pausing the week's pullback as markets assessed how the economy may fare against higher interest rates. 3% from six-week lows yesterday, and the Dow was flat. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by 25bps later in the meeting, although the Summary of Economic Projections is likely to show a fragmented FOMC as uncertain outlooks spark disagreements on policy and forward guidance. Hawkish concerns were further consolidated with the release of strong retail sales and soaring import inflation.
Chip producers and hardware companies extended yesterday's rebound after concerns over AI safety risks voiced by Anthropic and OpenAI jeopardized the momentum of soaring hyperscaler capital expenditure. Intel, Marvell, and Dell gained over 3%. In turn, banks, retail, and pharmaceutical companies were flat.