S&P 500 ended almost choppy session; Investors look at the Federal Reserve, earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was almost flat on Monday as investors braced for an expected interest rate hike at this week’s Federal Reserve meeting and earnings from several large-cap growth companies.

Nasdaq Ended Lower, S&P 500 Tech (.SPLRCT) and consumer appreciation (.SPLRCD) Leading declines among the major sectors Standard & Poor’s. energy sector (.SPNY) acquired along with oil prices.

“Right now we’re in a wait-and-see state waiting for all of these developments to happen,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Stamford, Connecticut.

The Federal Reserve is expected to announce a 75 basis point rate hike at the end of its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, effectively ending the pandemic-era support for the US economy.

Comments made by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell after the announcement will be key, as some investors fear that a sharp interest rate hike could push the US economy into recession. Read more

This week is expected to be the busiest in the reporting period for the second quarter, with results coming in from about 170 Standard & Poor’s 500 companies. Microsoft (MSFT.O) The Google Alphabet Alphabet (GOOGL.O) He is due to report on Tuesday. Apple company (AAPL.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) Prepared for Thursday.

“It’s an important earnings season for the market, especially given the (recent) attempt by Nasdaq to go higher,” said Quincy Crosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Nasdaq, which has led declines among major sectors this year, rose more than 3% last week.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 90.75 points, or 0.28%, to 31990.04 points (.SPX) It rose 5.21 points, or 0.13%, to 3,966.84 points, and the Nasdaq Composite (nineteenth) It fell 51.45 points, or 0.43%, to 11,782.67 points.

After the closing bell, Walmart shares (WMT.N) It fell more than 8% after the retailer said it cut its full-year profit forecast and blamed food and fuel inflation. Read more

S&P 500 earnings are expected to rise 6.1% for the second quarter from the same period last year, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Besides inflation and rising interest rates, investors have been concerned about the impact of currency headwinds and ongoing supply chain issues for businesses this earnings season.

Tuesday reports on two housing indices – the S&P Case-Shiller Composite Index of 20 cities (USSHPQ = ECI) and the Department of Commerce’s new home sales figure.

Recent housing data indicated that the sector could be a harbinger of a quiet economy. Read more

Newmont Corp (NEM.N)It fell 13.2 percent after the miner raised its annual cost forecast and lost profits in the second quarter, hit by lower gold prices and inflationary pressures. Read more

Volume on US exchanges was 9.34 billion shares, compared to an average of 11.0 billion for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Advance issues outnumbered declining issues on the New York Stock Exchange by 1.55 to 1; On the Nasdaq, the ratio was 1.05 to 1 in favor of declining stocks.

The S&P 500 hit a new 52-week high and 29 new low; Nasdaq Composite recorded 50 new highs and 105 new lows.

Reporting by Caroline Valitkevich. Additional reporting by Shreyachi Sanyal and Aniruda Ghosh in Bengaluru and Sinead Karo in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalovila, Anil de Silva and David Gregorio

Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.