Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on March 5, 2024.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday night after a tough start to the quarter, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling for a second straight day.
Dow futures fell 21 points (0.05%). S&P 500 futures fell 0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 futures also fell 0.02%.
Wall Street’s lack of confidence in major benchmarks has left investors worried that the Federal Reserve will take longer to cut interest rates after last week’s volatile inflation readings and solid economic data. We are coming out of a down market. U.S. Treasury yields soared, with the 10-year bond rate at its highest level since November. Crude oil prices also rose to a five-month high.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 400 points, or 1%, across 30 stocks. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell nearly 1%.
Still, some market participants remain optimistic about stocks overall, saying they expect some correction after a strong start to the year. The S&P 500 is on track to record its best first quarter since 2019.
“I think this is a bit of a garden-variety backlash,” Kristen Bitterly, Citi’s head of global wealth investment solutions, said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Tuesday. “Every day we hear that we are reaching or within reach of all-time highs. So, more than geopolitics re-emerging and yields surging, I don’t think there’s anything we can read today.”
“We know that the Fed’s future trajectory is downward. We know that inflation is falling. And we know that earnings are turning a corner,” Bitterly said. continued. “So once you have that fundamental context, it’s actually quite constructive for risk assets overall.”
Investors will get further insight into the labor market on Wednesday with the ADP Private Payroll report, which will be released ahead of Friday’s March jobs report. The ISM service index is set to be released after opening.
In addition to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, a number of other central bank speakers are also scheduled to speak, including Fed Director Michelle Bowman and Adriana Kugler. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsby and Fed Vice Chairman for Supervision Michael Barr are also scheduled to speak at the event.
Levi Strauss will report on earnings after the transaction closes.
