2024-09-17 21:51:34
The S&P 500 closed today’s session without direction, after touching an intra-session high, with the market anxiously awaiting the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Wednesday.
The index closed with a marginal increase of 0.03% at 5,634.58 points, after earlier touching a record high at 5,670.81 points. THE Nasdaq closed with a small increase of 0.2% at 17,628.06 points, while on the contrary the Dow Jones fell 15.9 points or 0.04%, to close at 41,606.18 points, after it also touched a historic high at the beginning of the session.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones all-time highs are taking place during a historically difficult time for the market. September was the worst month for the S&P 500 in 10 years, with a monthly loss of 1.3%, according to FactSet data.
Wall Street is on hold for today’s Fed rate decision, on whether to cut by 25 or 50 basis points, a move that will support corporate earnings. Traders are giving a 63% chance for a rate cut of 50 basis points, down from 47% on Friday, although that is slightly lower than the 67% at the start of today’s session.
Today’s retail sales data was better than expected and showed that the strength of the US consumer remains solid. Retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.1 percent in August against forecasts for a 0.2 percent decline, according to Dow Jones.
According to some investors, a larger cut could fuel concerns about the health of the US economy.
Interactive Brokers’ Steve Sosnick still thinks the Fed is leaning toward a 25 basis point cut, but notes that years of experience have taught him to respect the market’s message. And this message speaks of a reduction of 50 basis points, he notes.
He points out that there could be disappointment if the Fed chooses 25 basis points.