Stocks rose as several Federal Reserve officials downplayed inflation risks this week, easing concern that interest-rate hikes would start sooner than expected. Bitcoin traded near $40,000.
The S&P 500 extended its monthly advance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average — which made its debut 125 years ago — also gained. Banks will be in focus as chief executive officers from Wall Street’s largest lenders are set to begin the first of two days of testimony to Congress. Reddit favorites GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. rallied, delivering more losses to skeptics who have piled on bets against the two companies.
As officials repeat the line that inflation will be transitory, U.S. three-month 10-year implied swaption volatility — a closely watched gauge of how much prices may move over the period — has declined. Still, there are a series of factors that could prompt market jitters. The latest Fed minutes showed a number of participants signaling openness to discussing tapering of bond buying at “upcoming meetings” if the economy evolves as expected. This position was echoed by Vice Chair Richard Clarida on Tuesday.
Three-month 10-year U.S. rate volatility has slumped
“Investors appear to be giving the Fed the benefit of the doubt with their transitory inflation forecast, but we suspect the window of confidence could close without supporting evidence in coming months,” said Craig W. Johnson, technical market strategist st Piper Sandler & Co. “Based on this backdrop, we suspect economic uncertainty and volatility could remain high over the coming weeks as investors wait for more clarity on inflation and tapering.”
Some other corporate highlights:
Amazon.com Inc. agreed to buy the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie company for $8.45 billion.
Ford Motor Co. is boosting spending on electric vehicles by at least 36% to $30 billion over the next four years.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reported better-than estimated results.
Here are some events this week:
U.S. initial jobless claims, GDP, durable goods, pending home sales on Thursday.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Amazon.com Inc. agreed to buy the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie company for $8.45 billion.
Ford Motor Co. is boosting spending on electric vehicles by at least 36% to $30 billion over the next four years.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reported better-than estimated results.
Here are some events this week:
U.S. initial jobless claims, GDP, durable goods, pending home sales on Thursday.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 9:40 a.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
- The euro fell 0.2% to $1.2229
- The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.4134
- The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 108.98 per dollar
