Here are today’s market moves:
S&P 500 up 0.60% to 3,898.81
Dow Jones up 1.46% to 32,297.02
Nasdaq down 0.038% to 13,068.83
Gold: $1,725
Bitcoin: $55,900
US10Y: 1.521%
What Happened?
Stock indexes gained after inflation data showed a negligible rise in consumer prices for February and bond yields fell further.
The Dow closed above 32,000 for the first time, while the S&P 500 gained 0.60%. The Nasdaq lost its morning gains and finished the day slightly in the red.
The Nasdaq is still 7% off its highs while the Dow is at a record. Why?
Tech shares are looking more expensive in an era of higher yields.
As the economy begins to reopen, people are rotating out of “pandemic” stocks (work from home + tech stocks) into sectors that are expected to rebound with the economy, such as energy and banks.
Inflation rose slightly in February, pushed by an increase in gas prices that lifted the overall Consumer Price Index by 0.4 percent, in line with expectations.
On Wednesday, Congress passed a $1.9 trillion economic relief bill, sending it to President Biden to sign into law. The big debate right now is whether too much fiscal stimulus could cause the economy to overheat and send prices surging.
What Else?
This Week
Monday: Earnings expected from H&R Block.
Tuesday: Earnings expected from Stitch Fix and Dick's Sporting Goods.
Wednesday: Earnings expected from Asana, Bumble, and Campbell Soup; Roblox goes public; U.S. February consumer price index data released.
Thursday: Earnings expected from DocuSign, GoodRx, Oracle, Poshmark, and Ulta; Weekly jobless claims; The European Central Bank holds its monetary policy meeting.
Friday: One year anniversary since the March 2020 Covid-19 lockdowns began.