The stock markets in the United States fluctuated and eventually ended the trading with mixed results today. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 fell. The NASDAQ and Russell 2000 gained
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The minutes of the meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) indicated that policy makers are unlikely to raise interest rates in June.
The FOMC minutes indicated that policy makers “thought it unlikely that the data available in June would provide sufficient confirmation that the conditions for raising the target range for the federal funds rate had been satisfied.”
Policy makers expected the economy to experience moderate growth this year and noted concerns regarding consumer spending, which represents two-thirds of the country’s GDP.
[drizzle]Commenting on the FOMC minutes, Joseph Lavorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities told Bloomberg, “There’s nothing in the minutes saying anything other than they are staying at zero. I don’t come away from these minutes any more confident they’re raising rates in September.”
On the other hand, Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management commented, “While the Fed continues to be data-dependent, they’re pushing back the timeline to later this year. June is off the table.”
Wiegand added, “The initial bounce and now the languishing really reflect what we’re all looking for in seeking some clarity. That clarity is going to come in bits and pieces in further labor data and second-quarter earnings.”
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 18,285.60 (-0.15%)
- S&P 500- 2,125.80 (-0.10%)
- NASDAQ- 5,071.74 (+0.03%)
- Russell 2000- 1,258.55 (+0.23%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,683.48 (+0.35%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 7,007.26 (+0.17%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 11,848.47 (-0.04%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 20,196.56 (+0.85%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 27,585.05 (-0.39%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 4,754.92 (+0.50%)
Stocks in Focus
Cablevision Systems Corporation surged 18% to $24.69 per share amid reports regarding mergers in the cable industry. Charter Communications reiterated its decision to acquire Bright House Networks for $10.4 billion. Market observers speculated that Cablevision would pursue a similar deal Its CEO Jim Dolan previously expressed its interest for the company to be acquired by Time Warner Cable or other companies.
The shares of Lowe’s Companies declined more than 4% to $68.50 per share after reporting lower-than-expected financial results for the first quarter. The company posted $0.70 in earnings per share on $14.1 billion in revenue. Analysts expected the company to deliver $0.74 in earnings per share on $14.3 billion in revenue.
The stock price of Yahoo increased more than 4% to $42.69 per share. The company reassured investors that the major changes to tax rules to be implemented by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will not affect the spinoff of its $33 billion stake in Alibaba Group Holding.
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