- The US stocks closed higher on Monday
- The S&P 500 was not left behind as it closed higher on the market as well
- Boeing makes losses after Department of Transportation and Federal prosecutors give a report
Monday saw US stocks end higher as Apple and Amazon performed well, but gains were balanced amid pressure from Facebook and Boeing, whereas traders knocked it up for a scheduled busy week featured by a crucial Federal Reserve meeting.
The S&P 500 Makes Gains
The S&P 500 was highlighted by gains of 0.37 percent as the financials and energy sectors hiked up returns for more than 1 percent each. Amazon rose higher with 1.5 percent returns while the NASDAQ made returns to the tune of 0.34 percent. Advancements were experienced in the Dow’s returns with 65 points as a 1 percent hike in Apple aided in offsetting losses in Boeing.
Boeing Continues to Concede Losses
Boeing experienced a 1.5 percent fall after The Wall Street Journal made reports that the Department of Transportation and federal prosecutors were investigating the development of the company’s 737 Max planes. This latest development comes after an Ethiopian Airlines flight 737 Max 8 jet had an accident last week.
Facebook Experiences Losses
Shares of Facebook went down by 3.3 percent after an analyst from Needham downgraded the company to hold from buy, citing worries about Facebook’s pivot to privacy and encrypted messages as well as the possibility of more regulatory scrutiny.
Investors braced themselves for a hectic week as the Fed launched a two-day policy meeting on monetary gains on Tuesday. A rate hike of zero is expected for the market, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. However, the central bank’s economic outlook will be up for scrutiny by investors.
“When FOMC members meet this week, they will find that since their last get together at the end of January short-term yield relationships are still forewarning lower growth despite concerted jaw-boning efforts that include the promise of ending balance sheet reduction early,” said Steven Blitz, chief U.S. economist at TS Lombard.
The Fed hinted that they would go slow on raising rates at its meeting this year with Treasury yield trading at 2.45 percent, down from about 2.6 percent at the beginning of the year. The 10-year note of the benchmark yield is also 2.6 percent down from 2.78 percent.
Blitz added:
“The equity market, lifted by the return of easier money from central banks globally as well as the Fed, is positive without question, but we wonder how long this lift will last, considering the likely negative impact on earnings expectations from weakening trends in US economic data and much of the rest of the world.”
