U.S. stocks trim some losses, but remain cautious ahead of Powell testimony

Investing.com -- U.S. stock markets fell Monday, taking a breather from record levels as Federal Reserve officials continued to pour cold water on sooner rate cuts ahead of top-tier economic data and testimony from Fed chair Jerome Powell later this week.

By 13:52 ET (18:52 GMT), the benchmark S&P 500 had fallen 0.1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 92 points, or 0.2%.

Fed official continue to urge patience ahead of Powell testimony, nonfarm payrolls

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic struck a caution tone on rate cuts Monday, warning that it could spark a fresh wave of economic growth at time when the economy continues to surprise the upside, reigniting the pace of inflation and undoing the Fed's progress.

The remarks came just days ahead of of testimony from Fed Chair Jerome Powell before a House Committee on Wednesday and a Senate panel on Thursday.

Powell is anticipated to largely reiterate the Fed’s stance that rates should be kept steady in the face of sticky inflation -- a notion that has been echoed by several officials at the central bank over the past two weeks.

"Jay Powell is unlikely to commit to a start date for policy rate cuts at his testimony this week. A pivot to December's 'dovish' tone is unlikely," Macquarie said in a note.

After Powell’s testimony, February nonfarm payrolls data is due out on Friday. The reading could offer fresh insight into the state of the labor market, a key consideration for Fed rate-setters.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) get hit with $2B antitrust fine; Super Micro boosts chip stocks

Apple received a $1.84 billion euro antitrust fine received from the European Commission for allegedly stifling competition from rival music streaming services including Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) by imposing restrictions on its App store.

Apple said it would appeal the move, but its share tumbled 3% amid a broader weakness in the tech, though a rise in semiconductors helped keep a lid on losses, led by a 25% surge in Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI) as the latter is set to join the S&P 500 on Mar. 18.

Investor group increases Macy's takeover offer

In individual stocks, shares in Macy's (NYSE:M) jumped more than 14% after an investor group consisting of Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital hiked its offer to take the department store chain private to $24 in cash per Macy’s share, up from its earlier offer of $21 per share.

The offer represents a 33% premium to Macy’s close on Friday, and values the chain at about $6.6 billion. Arkhouse said that the group was open to further increasing the takeover price.

Macy's, which rejected a prior bid in November, said in a statement on Sunday that its board will review the new proposal. The offer comes after Macy's announced a major restructuring drive that will see the firm slash costs, reduce inventory, and shutter 150 stores over the next three years.

Cryptocurrency-related stocks surge as Bitcoin's targets all-time high

Crypto-related stocks, including crypto exchange Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), and crypto miners Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA), Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) and CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) were sharply higher after bitcoin topped $67,000 as it looks to surpass its prior high of $68,990.90.

(Scott Kanowsky, Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.)

This article first appeared in Investing.com