The stock markets in the United Stated fluctuated and eventually closed the trading session down The Dow Jones and S&P 500 fell 0.6% and 0.17%, respectively today.
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The weakness of equities in the transportation sector offsets the positive momentum of stocks in the consumer-discretionary sector.
Today, Stanley Fischer, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve stated that the increase of interest rates from new zero is likely warranted before the end of the year.
Fischer added that subsequent increases will probably unpredictable or not uniform. He said, “A smooth path upward in the federal funds rate will almost certainly not be realized,” citing the reason that the economy could face challenges such as the decline or oil prices or geopolitical crises in the future.
[drizzle]On the other hand, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President, James Bullard warned that keeping interest rates at zero could cause devastating bubbles. Bullard emphasized that the Fed “should get on with normalization” as soon as possible to prevent more aggressive interest rate hikes later, which could cause significant market volatility.
In a telephone interview with Bloomberg, Stephen Carl, principal and head equity trader at Williams Capital Group commented, “Last week when Yellen spoke, that was seen favorably by the market. The speakers today should reinforce what she said last week and stick to the status quo.”
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 18,116.91 (-0.06%)
- S&P 500- 2,104.46 (-0.06%)
- NASDAQ- 5,010.97 (-0.31%)
- Russell 2000- 1,266.39 (0.00%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,699.04 (-0.73%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 7,037.67 (+0.22%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 11,895.84 (1-1.19%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 19,754.36 (+0.99%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 24,494.51 (+0.49%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 3,972.06 (+2.04%)
Stocks in Focus
Apple gained more than 1% to $127.21 per share. An analyst noted that the stock price of the tech giant stabilized after experiencing a mini-flash crash on Friday as it started trading as part of the Dow Jones. Cantoz Fitzgerald analyst Brian White said Apple is worth $1 trillion. He increased his price target for Apple’s stock to $180 per share.
The stock price of Calithera Biosciences surged almost 19% to %18.74 per share, the highest gainer on NASDAQ. Today, the company announced its upcoming presentation of five preclinical abstracts featuring the potential of CB-839, a novel, orally bioavailable glutaminase inhibitor. The presentation will be held at the American Association for Cancer Research on April 18-22.
The shares of Cyberark Software increased more than 12% to $54.89 per share after analysts at Bank of America Merill Lynch initiated a Buy rating with a $60 price target. The research firm suggested that Cyberark Software is one of the most attractive investments in the network security industry.
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