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Wall Street’s main indices closed higher on Thursday, April 7, lifted by healthcare and energy stocks even as investors weighed Fed’s plans to shrink the balance sheet by US$95 billion a month.
The S&P 500 rose 0.43% to 4500.21. The Dow Jones climbed 0.25% to 34583.57. The NASDAQ Composite was up 0.06% to 13897.30, and the small-cap Russell 2000 fell 0.35% to 2009.80.
The central bank is expected to announce further interest rate hikes to calm inflation. Rate jitters had kept the markets on edge in recent sessions.
The Fed minutes from its last policy meeting showed on Wednesday that it is considering reducing its massive bond holdings much faster than initially planned.
The yields on the 10-year US Treasury note reached a three-year high this week. It traded at 2.654% higher on Thursday than 2.606% from the previous day.
In another major development, the Senate in a historic move voted 53-47 to select Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the 116th Supreme Court justice on Thursday. She will be the first black woman to join the Apex court.
Sectoral Performance
On Thursday, healthcare, energy, consumer non-cyclicals, basic materials, consumer cyclicals, industrials, and technology were the top movers on the S&P 500 index. Financials, utilities, and real estate were the bottom movers. Seven out of 10 segments of the index closed in the green.
Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) stocks jumped nearly 5% after the wine and spirits maker posted strong Q4 earnings with their net income soaring to US$395.4 million.
HP Inc (HPQ) stock also jumped over 17% on Thursday, buoyed by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway buying an 11% stake valued at US$4.2 billion in the tech company.
In the healthcare sector, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) rose 0.98%, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) was up 4.27%, and AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) gained 2.57%.
In energy stocks, Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) increased by 1.67%, Chevron Corporation (CVX) rose 1.39%, and Shell plc (SHEL) gained 0.22%.
In consumer non-cyclicals, Walmart Inc. (WMT) advanced 1.00%, The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) gained 1.29%, and The Coca-Cola Company (KO) was up 0.54%.
In the financial services sector, Visa Inc. (V) fell 1.31%, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) closed 0.30% low, and Bank of America Corporation (BAC) declined 0.78%.
The cryptocurrency market was down 0.41% to US$2.01 trillion at around 4:30 pm ET on Thursday. Bitcoin (BTC) was down 1.02% to US$43,491.21 in the last 24 hours.
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Futures & Commodities
Gold futures were up 0.50% to US$1,932.70 per ounce. Silver climbed 1.02% to US$24.703 per ounce, while copper fell 0.44% to US$4.7170.
Brent oil futures went up 0.25% to US$101.32 per barrel and WTI crude climbed 0.83% to US$97.03 a barrel.
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Bond Market
The 30-year Treasury bond yields gained 1.79% to 2.679, while the 10-year bond yields rose 1.87% to 2.658.
US Dollar Index Futures were up 0.14% to US$99.757.
