Category: Markets

How Major US Stock Indexes Fared July 21

Wall Street drifted to a mixed closed but still marked another weekly gain. The S&P 500 eked out a gain of less than 0.1 percent Friday. The index had its eighth winning week in the last 10. The Dow edged up just 2 points and the Nasdaq fell 0.2 percent a day after tumbling to…


US Mortgage Rates Fall in Biggest Decline Since March

U.S. mortgage rates dropped from an eight-month high, after nearing 7 percent last week, as inflation slows ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting. The Fed’s aggressive interest-rate hike policy sent mortgage rates well above 7 percent last year, causing the once booming housing market to crash. Rates have been slow to decline from the nearly two-decade high,…


The Fed Is Raising Rates, but What About the $8.3 Trillion Balance Sheet?

All financial eyes will be on next week’s policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The futures market is penciling in a quarter-point increase to the benchmark federal funds rate. But while all the focus among economists, investors, and market analysts is on interest rates, what about the Federal Reserve’s massive balance sheet?…


ANALYSIS: The Fed Is Raising Rates, but What About the $8.3 Trillion Balance Sheet?

News Analysis All financial eyes will be on next week’s policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The futures market is penciling in a quarter-point increase to the benchmark federal funds rate. But while all the focus among economists, investors, and market analysts is on interest rates, what about the Federal Reserve’s massive…


NASDAQ Dips Over 2 Percent on Thursday for Worst Performance in Five Months

NASDAQ registered one of its worst daily performances in months on July 20 as the index got dragged down by the crashing stocks of Tesla and Netflix. On Thursday, NASDAQ declined by 295 points, or 2.05 percent, which is the biggest daily percentage decline since Feb. 21, when the index fell by 2.5 percent. The…


Wall Street Rises as Megacaps Rebound, Dow Set for 10th Day of Gains

Wall Street’s main indexes opened higher on Friday, setting the Dow on track for its tenth straight day of gains, while megacap growth and technology stocks recovered after sharp losses in the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49.14 points, or 0.14 percent, at the open to 35,274.32. The S&P 500 opened higher…


FedNow Launches in US, Fed Insists Payment System ‘Not Related to a Digital Currency’

The FedNow instant payment system from the U.S. Federal Reserve is now live, with the central bank claiming that the service will enable individuals and businesses to make quick payments and receive funds within seconds. The Federal Reserve announced the launch of its interbank payment service on Thursday, which it claims will help banks and…


Oil Edges Higher, Buoyed by Tighter Supplies, China Stimulus

LONDON—Oil prices rose on Friday, buoyed by evidence of tightening supplies and economic stimulus in slow-recovering China. Brent futures were up 94 cents at $80.58 a barrel by 0955 GMT—rising as high as $1 earlier—while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also climbed 94 cents to $76.59 a barrel. The supply deficit that had been…


Global Shares Subdued After US Tech Earnings Disappoint

LONDON, SYDNEY—Global stocks edged lower on Friday after disappointing tech earnings sapped risk appetite, while the dollar soared against the yen. The MSCI World index of global shares, which has risen more than 16 percent this year, dipped 0.3 percent. Europe’s STOXX 600 was flat and Germany’s tech-heavy Dax slipped 0.3 percent. Following steep post-earnings…


Stock Market Today: Wall Street’s Rally Fizzles After Tesla and Netflix Fall

NEW YORK—Drops for Tesla, Netflix and other big tech-oriented stocks put the clamps on Wall Street’s torrid rally Thursday. The S&P 500 fell 30.85, or 0.7 percent, to 4,534.87, coming off its highest close since early April 2022 and its seventh gain in the last eight days. The Nasdaq composite dropped 294.71, or 2.1 percent,…