Stock market news Today, equities ended lower as the Federal Reserve expects a recession

Last Updated: 4:00 PM EST

Stocks ended today’s trading session on a negative note after Federal Reserve officials indicated they may raise interest rates at their next meeting, despite concerns that the economy could slide into recession later this year due to banking sector tensions . As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) decreased by 0.11%, 0.41% and 0.89% respectively.

The officials’ latest minutes suggested that strong price pressures and strong demand for labor may warrant additional policy tightening to bring inflation back to the central bank’s target of 2%.

The Fed staff’s forecast, presented at the last meeting, projected the economy to slide into a mild recession later this year due to the banking crisis, with recovery over the next two years.

Nevertheless, Fed officials have decided that more needs to be done to curb inflation, despite the banking crisis sparking speculation that the Fed might keep interest rates.

Looking ahead, the Fed has indicated that it will pay close attention to other measures of economic activity, including bank lending conditions, as it considers its next move.

Last Updated: 12:25 PM EST

Halfway through today’s trading session, stocks are in the green. As of 12:25 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) increased by 0.3%, 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.

In addition, WTI crude is also up today as it hovers above $83 a barrel. While the commodity is a long way from its yearly highs, the recent uptrend has caused prices at the pump to gain upward momentum across the country.

Indeed, the national average for regular gas was $3,621 per gallon last year, up from the previous week by $3,528. Still, this remains significantly below the all-time high of $5,016 per gallon on June 14, 2022.

The highest prices are found in California, where prices are significantly higher than the national average, at $4,885 per gallon. On the other hand, Mississippi is the state with the lowest gas prices, at $3,144 per gallon.

Last Updated: 11:03 AM EST

Shares are lower so far in today’s trading session. As of 11:03 a.m. EST, the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) decreased by 0.1% and 0.4% respectively. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is near the flatline.

Last Updated: 9:39 AM EST

Stocks opened higher Wednesday morning as investors weighed the latest inflation data. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX) is up 0.7%, while the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are up 0.6% and 0.55%, respectively, at 9:39 a.m. EST, April 12.

Last Updated: 8:37 AM EST

US futures are rising higher today after the CPI report indicated that while headline inflation had cooled, core CPI remains high. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) are up 1.10%, while those on the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are up 0.76% and 0.89%, respectively, at 8:37 a.m. EST, April 12.

The CPI is considered an important indicator of the inflationary environment and is often used by policymakers to determine their monetary stance. Also, US producer price index (PPI) data for March is expected on April 13. In addition, the Fed will today release the minutes of its March policy meeting, which will provide justification for the latest rate hike of 25 basis points.

First published: 5:39 AM EST

Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) fell 0.12%, while those on the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are up 0.07% and 0.17%, respectively, at 4:00 a.m. EST on April 12. Importantly, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned of a weak medium-term growth forecast for the coming years, while also downgrading its outlook.

Inflation expectations for March have been set at 5.2%, lower than February’s inflation rate of 6%. In addition, the CPI is expected to rise 0.2% in March, lower than the 0.4% growth recorded in February, according to economists polled by Dow Jones. The decision on the next rate hike by the Federal Reserve will be announced in May. Whether the Fed decides to pause the hikes or continue with an increase of at least 25 basis points will be determined by the CPI data and the Q1 earnings season, which started this week.

The big banks, namely JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Citi Group (NYSE:C) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), reports this week, stamping the impact of the recent banking turmoil on the bank’s earnings.

Stocks are expected to witness volatile sessions during earnings season. Companies, especially banks, will reveal the extent of losses and bad assets on their balance sheets in their earnings reports.

Meanwhile, European indices are largely trading in the green today as traders await major inflation data from the US

Asia-Pacific markets end mixed

Most Asia-Pacific indices ended today’s trading session on a mixed note, as investors looked ahead to key US inflation data and the future direction of the Fed’s monetary policy.

Remarkably, Chinese inflation was lower than expected at 0.7%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the trading session down 0.86%, while China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.41% and the Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.54%.

At the same time, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices ended the day in the green, up 0.57% and 0.76% respectively, driven by nationwide PPI and machine orders.

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