Green start to the week on Wall Street

Industry heavy Dow Jones showed the way on Wall Street through the first trading day of the week. This week, the market’s eyes are on new inflation figures and the Fed’s last two-day interest rate meeting of the year.

The Fed is expected to keep interest rates in their current range of between 5.25 percent to 5.50 percent on Wednesday. Much of the focus will likely be on forecasts for the economy, inflation, and the number of expected cuts next year.

– The biggest risk is if the Federal Reserve does not do what the market expects, which is to cut interest rates during 2024, investment manager David Neuhauser at the hedge fund Livermore Partners to CNBC, and continued:

– The market tells you one thing, so what the market is essentially doing is challenging the Federal Reserve’s credibility and we will see who is right here.

On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.39 percent to 4,622.39, while the technology index Nasdaq rose 0.20 percent to 14,432.49. Industry-heavy Dow Jones rose 0.43 percent to 36,404.86.

The volatility index – VIX – rose 2.35 percent to 12.64, while ten-year US Treasury bonds fell to 4.24 percent.

Movements

The big technology companies had no wind in their sails on Monday. Here’s how it fared for Facebook owner Meta, Amazon, Netflix, Apple and Alphabet (also known as the FAANG stocks):

• Facebook fell 2.29 percent to $324.84.
• Amazon fell 1.03 percent to $145.90.
• Apple fell 1.33 percent to $193.12.
• Netflix rose 1.43 percent to $460.26.
• Alphabet fell 1.38 percent to $133.13.

Macy’s rose 19.6 percent after it received a $5.8 billion takeover offer from two investment firms. Other department store chains also rose on the report, with shares of Nordstrom and Kohl’s each rising more than 7 percent.

Health insurance companies Cigna Group is said to have dropped its attempt to buy the competitor Humana after the two failed to agree on a price. Cigna’s shares rose 16.6 per cent, while Humana’s shares fell just over 1 per cent.

The pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly fell 2.4 percent after a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that patients who withdrew from the weight-loss drug tirzepatide returned to their original weight over time.

The food delivery giant DoorDash rose 1.6 percent after it was included in the Nasdaq 100 index, which consists of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The soup maker Campbell Soup rose more than 2 percent after the company reported first-quarter earnings that beat estimates. It reported an adjusted earnings per per share (EPS) of 91 cents, better than the consensus estimate of 88 cents. Revenue of $2.52 billion was in line with estimates.

Oil and crypto

Brent oil rose 0.41 percent to 76.15 dollars per fat, mens WTI oil ticked up 0.32 percent to 71.46 dollars per barrel.

At closing time on Wall Street, trading takes place Bitcoin down 6.7 percent to 40,825.90 dollars per coin. It is also the biggest intraday drop since August. Ethereum is also traded down 6.7 percent to 2,194.50 dollars per coin.