Wall Street experienced a quiet session during morning trading on Tuesday, influenced by a lack of significant economic data and minimal updates on earnings from major large-cap companies.
Traders largely disregarded the latest hawkish comments from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, who noted progress on inflation seen in the latter half of 2023 had stalled and mentioned the Federal Reserve might raise rates if inflation becomes persistent.
Kashkari also revealed he initially predicted two rate cuts for the year, but now anticipated possibly maintaining two, or reducing to one or none by the June Summary of Economic Projections.
The S&P 500 saw a modest increase of 0.2% around midday in New York, with similar gains in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 and the Dow Jones, all of which are poised for their fourth consecutive session of gains. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM), representing small caps, performed notably well, rising 0.8%.
Treasury yields declined slightly by about 6 basis points across various maturities from 5 to 30 years, with the 10-year benchmark decreasing to 4.4%, marking a fifth consecutive day of declines. This led to a continued rally in bonds, exemplified by a 1.1% increase in the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT).
In corporate news, chipmaker Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:DIS) also fell sharply by over 10%, setting it on course for its worst performance day since November 2022.
In the cryptocurrency and precious metals markets, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) remained stable at $63,800, while both gold and silver declined by 0.5%
Tuesday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day %chg |
| Russell 2000 | 2,072.99 | 0.7% |
| S&P 500 | 5,193.42 | 0.2% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 18,137.08 | 0.2% |
| Dow Jones | 38,914.33 | 0.2% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:QQQ) rose 0.3% to $441.54, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Sector-wise, the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) was the major laggard, down 0.3%.
Tuesday’s Stock Movers
- Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
- Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE:LCID) fell over 14% after posting mixed quarterly results
- Other stocks reacting to earnings were GlobalFoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:AXON) down 4%.
- Companies reporting after the close include Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:LYFT).
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