Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 1, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Stocks traded slightly higher Wednesday, with investors awaiting the release of fresh U.S. inflation data and earnings.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 49 points, or 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4%.
Intuitive Surgical and Lennar led the broader market higher, gaining more than 6% and 2.5%, respectively. Intuitive increased its procedure growth outlook for fiscal year 2024 after market close on Tuesday, when Lennar had also announced an increase to its annual dividend.
“We’re in this calm before the realization,” said Phillip Colmar, managing partner and global strategist at MRB Partners, noting that market activity is fairly muted given the Federal Reserve’s planned interest rate cuts that it has priced in by year-end.
“Right now, the market’s pretty quiet, but I don’t think it’ll be quiet all year,” Colmar said. “We’ve fully priced this Goldilocks soft landing scenario. What’s next? It’s probably ‘no landing,’ which means the bond yields are probably not going to stay as anchored as they are, some of those rate cuts have come back out and then volatility comes back into the equity market … and then it’s not a buy-everything rally that we saw at the year end.”
Investors await the latest consumer price index report slated for release Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect CPI rose 3.2% year over year in December.
Investors will look through the reports for clues on when the Federal Reserve may start cutting rates. Some of those expectations have been dialed back in recent days, although the odds hover at around 64%, according to CME Group FedWatch tool.
Earnings heats up Friday with results from major financial heavyweights including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, along with UnitedHealth and Delta Air Lines.
Stocks are coming off a mixed session. The S&P 500 and Dow closed lower…
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