© Reuters.
Written by Yassin Ibrahim
Investing.com – The S&P 500 pared some gains on Monday, as U.S. Treasury yields rose ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome’s testimony, but an Apple-led rally in technology kept stocks a bit higher.
It rose 0.2%, it rose 0.1%, or 21 points, it rose 0.2%.
Growth stocks such as technology were forced to retreat from session highs while returns rose to positivity ahead of Powell’s semi-annual testimony on Capitol Hill that could provide clues to monetary policy.
“Powell’s testimony is a milestone because if he wants to influence market prices for decisions coming out of the March 21-22 FOMC meeting, this is his last and best chance to do so,” Scotiabank said in a note.
Powell’s testimony comes just days before Friday’s March report and next week’s report, both of which are expected to play an important role in the Fed’s thinking about monetary policy measures.
Apple (NASDAQ: ) jumped more than 2% after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: ) upgraded its rating on the stock to Buy after six years on the sidelines, citing the strength of the tech giant’s services business.
Other big tech stocks also attracted buying pressure, with Alphabet (NASDAQ:), Amazon (NASDAQ:) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:) up 1%.
Meanwhile, Tesla (NASDAQ: TA) fell more than 1% after the electric car maker cut prices in the United States for the second time this year to boost demand. Tesla also took a hit from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:) removing the electric car maker as a “top pick” in favor of Ferrari.
Morgan Stanley raised its price target for Ferrari Race to $310 per share from $280 previously on optimism that the racing car company has “tools to pull for growth or downside protection.”
Boeing (NYSE: ), a major component of the Dow Jones index, kept the broader market’s gains in check amid reports that a software issue threatens to delay deliveries of the 737 MAX and 787 aircraft by up to a year.
In the commodity markets, spot transactions witnessed a decline of 0.57% to the price of 1,845 an ounce, in light of the rise in US Treasury yields. While the dollar index remains stable at 104.317 levels, waiting for what Powell will say tomorrow.
