Benzinga
Published Mar 20, 2024 17:06
Updated Mar 20, 2024 18:10
Stocks Hold Steady Ahead Of Fed Meeting, Oil Eases, Bitcoin Rebounds: What's Driving Markets Wednesday?
Benzinga - by Piero Cingari, Benzinga Staff Writer.
It’s a quiet session on Wall Street Wednesday as investors remain on the sidelines, awaiting further clues on monetary policy front with the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak shortly after the statement at 2:30 p.m.
While rates are expected to remain unchanged at 5.25%-5.5%, the spotlight will be focused on updates to Fed economic projections, particularly the dot plot, which will unveil the potential trajectory of rate cuts in the future.
Market participants and economists anticipate the Fed will adhere to a strategy of three rate cuts for 2024, but there are concerns of a potential hawkish shift, suggesting fewer projected rate cuts following recent inflation surprises.
At midday trading in New York, both equity indices and Treasury yields showed flat performances. Sectors were mostly unaffected by minor fluctuations, although energy stocks experienced some pullbacks after recent gains due to a 1.9% easing in oil prices.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) made an attempt to rebound, rising 3% to $63,600, after dropping as low as $60,000 overnight.
Major Indices | Price | 1-day %chg |
Russell 2000 | 202.24 | 0.1 % |
S&P 500 | 5,181.36 | 0.1% |
Dow Jones | 39,128.00 | 0.0% |
Nasdaq 100 | 18,027.15 | 0.0% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was flat at $515.71, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) held steady at $391.07 and the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) held steady at $438.80, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Among sectors, the Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) was the top performer for the day, up 0.6%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) were the laggards, both down 0.6%.
Illustration via Shutterstock and Federal Reserve Flickr.
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