Live S&P 500 (NYSEARCA: SPY): Markets Pull Back as Interest Rates Steal Focus
Key Points
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The markets are feeling the pressure today after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell commented on interest rates.
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The S&P 500 is taking a breather after recouping lost ground.
Live Updates
Economy on Thin Ice?
Despite some easing in recession concerns within his own firm, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon remains cautious about the economic outlook, suggesting that a U.S. recession could still be in the cards. While the bank’s chief U.S. economist has recently lowered the probability of a downturn to below 50%, Dimon highlighted ongoing uncertainty related to tariffs as a potential headwind. The markets have turned mixed, including slight gains in the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average while the Nasdaq Composite remains modestly lower.
Producer Prices Surprise
Despite Walmart’s move to pass tariff costs onto consumers, a broader look at producer prices reveals a different trend. In April, these prices surprisingly fell by 0.5%, marking the sharpest decline in five years. This suggests that many U.S. producers are shouldering increased costs rather than passing them on to their customers, a sharp turn from Bloomberg economist estimates of a 0.2% increase.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
The markets are pulling back this morning as traders look ahead to what is coming next. Market sentiment appears to be dampened by remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at a recent economic event. Powell cautioned that elevated long-term interest rates are likely to persist amidst an evolving monetary policy landscape. He noted the potential for “more frequent, and potentially more persistent, supply shocks,” placing the Fed between a rock and a hard place. The SPY ETF is down 0.25%.
Today’s declines are a reversal from the S&P 500’s recent performance in which it rallied by 18% over the previous 25 trading days, recouping its year-to-date losses and pushing the broader market index into positive territory. The Nasdaq Composite has also seen strong gains recently, advancing 6% in the last five sessions. Today marks the payment date for Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per share.
Here’s the snapshot of morning trading performance:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: Down 135.68 (-0.32%)
Nasdaq Composite: Down 146.22 (-0.77%)
S&P 500: Down 20.19 (-0.34%)
Stock Market Movers
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) shares are down 4.0% after a company executive indicated that the retailer intends to pass on the impact of tariffs to consumers through increased prices, potentially starting this month.
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), the Chinese e-commerce powerhouse, reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue figures that fell short of expectations, leading to a 6.5% drop in its stock price.
Shares of networking equipment provider Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) are trading lower by 4.2%.
Despite reporting strong first-quarter revenue and high demand for its platform, AI cloud computing firm CoreWeave (Nasdaq: CRWV) is experiencing a 4.4% decline. The company’s announcement of a significant capital expenditure plan for the second quarter, even with the addition of Google as a client, appears to have unsettled investors.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a big drag on the markets, falling 17% in today’s session alone, the latest negative catalyst for which is a potential Medicare scandal.
Gerelyn Terzo is the author of dividend investing handbook "Dividend Investing Strategies: How to Have Your Cake & Eat It Too." A veteran financial journalist, she covers agri-finance for outlets like Global AgInvesting and the broader stock market and personal finance for 24/7 Wall Street. She began at CNBC and later helped launch Fox Business in New York. Gerelyn currently resides in Woodland Park, Colorado and dabbles in nature photography as a hobby.
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