Stocks are mixed on Wall Street as traders wait for the Fed
Stocks were wavering between gains and losses early Thursday as the market’s momentum cools off following a five-day winning streak for the S&P 500
SINGAPORE — Stocks were wavering between gains and losses Thursday, as the market’s momentum cools off following a five-day winning streak for the S&P 500.
The S&P 500 index was down 0.1% as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite was mostly unchanged.
Salesforce.com was one of the biggest gainers in the early going, rising more than 4% after the company’s quarterly results easily beat analysts’ expectations. The company also raised its full-year outlook.
The Federal Reserve’s annual two-day convention in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, begins Thursday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Friday.
Traders are betting that Fed officials will remain in a “wait and see” mode regarding inflation, since most policymakers believe any inflation earlier this year would be temporary and the rise in COVID-19 cases has made some economists worried.
That said, yields have been moving steadily higher in the bond market in the past week, which could be a sign that traders are preparing for the Fed to start winding down its emergency support measures in the coming months. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was trading at 1.36%, up from 1.34% the day before.
Investors got a small bit of good economic data on Thursday. Jobless claims edged up by 4,000 to 353,000 from a pandemic low 349,000 a week earlier, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average fell by 11,500 to 366,500. That’s the lowest since mid-March 2020.
Companies that report their results after Thursday’s closing bell include technology giant HP, as well as Gap.
