Stock market today: Wall Street holds near records after an 8-day winning streak
By Matt Ott, The Associated Press on August 20, 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are holding near their record levels following an eight-day winning streak. The S&P 500 was down less than 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%. Palo Alto Networks rose 4% after the cybersecurity company became the latest big business to report stronger-than-expected results for the latest quarter. The company behind Hawaiian Airlines soared 11.4% after its proposed merger with the parent company of Alaska Airlines cleared a major regulatory hurdle. Treasury yields eased in the bond market ahead of a speech Friday by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. NEW YORK (AP) – Wall Street mostly inched higher early Tuesday as markets try to extend their recent winning streak ahead of a highly-anticipated speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later in the week. Futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.1%, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed. Shares of Hawaiian Holdings jumped 11.3% in premarket trading after the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines said its merger with Alaska Air cleared a major regulatory hurdle. The companies announced late Monday that the Department of Justice’s review period for the merger had expired, effectively clearing the way for the two companies to join forces upon completion of other closing requirements. Shares in Lowe’s fell modestly, less than 1%, after the hardware store chain beat profit expectations but missed sales targets and lowered its full-year guidance. Treasury yields held relatively steady ahead of what’s likely to be financial markets’ main event for the week: a speech on Friday by Fed Chair Powell. The setting for the speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has been home to some big policy announcements by the Fed in the past. Expectations aren’t that high this time around, with nearly everyone already expecting the Fed will begin cutting interest rates next month. That would be the first such cut since the Fed began hiking rates drastically in early 2022, hoping to slow the economy by enough to stifle inflation but not so much that it causes a recession. With inflation slowing from its peak above 9% two summers ago, Fed officials have already hinted cuts to rates are coming. The biggest question is whether the economy just needs the Federal Reserve to remove the brakes or if it needs more acceleration and deeper cuts. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was steady at 3.87%, while the 2-year ticked back to 4.05%. Global markets mostly rose after Wall Street pushed closer to record highs following its roller coaster of a summer. At midday in Europe, France’s CAC 40 added 0.1%, while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.1%. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.8%. Investors are closely watching the euro-zone inflation data set to be released later Tuesday. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock index closed 1.8% higher at 38,062.92, recovering losses after a 1.8% drop the previous day. The yen briefly approached 145 against the U.S. dollar on Monday but then pulled back and traded at 146.33 on Tuesday. China held its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Tuesday, with the one-year loan prime rate at 3.35% and the five-year LPR at 3.85%. This came after a series of key interest rate cuts made last month that aimed to support the economy. The one-year LPR serves as the benchmark for most corporate loans, while the five-year LPR is a reference rate for mortgages. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.3% to 17,511.08, and the Shanghai Composite lost 0.9% to 2,866.66. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.2% to 7,997.70 as the minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s meeting in August showed the board decided to leave the cash rate target steady at 4.35%, emphasizing that containing inflation remains their top priority. The RBA noted in the minutes it was “unlikely that the cash rate target would be reduced in the short term, and that it was not possible to either rule in or rule out future changes in the cash rate target.” South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.8% to 2,696.63. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude picked up 10 cents to $73.76 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 11 cents to $77.77 a barrel. The euro was unchanged at $1.1085. On Monday, the S&P 500 rallied 1% for its eighth-straight gain and ended at 5,608.25. That clinched its longest winning streak since November and followed the index’s best week of the year. It’s back to within 1% of its all-time high after falling close to 10% below the mark earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to 40,896.53, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.4% to 17,876.77. 24-23
