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US stocks snapped a three-day losing streak, with major indexes rising Wednesday.
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The S&P 500 is poised to close out its best first quarter since 2019.
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Investors are waiting on more Fedspeak and economic data later this week.
US stocks jumped on Wednesday, bouncing back from a three-day losing streak with traders hoping to close the market’s best first quarter in five years.
Major averages ticked higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring more than 475 points.
The benchmark S&P 500, with a gain of more than 9.5% so far this year, is on track for the best first three months of the year since 2019.
Investors are waiting on remarks from Fed Governor Christopher Waller after the closing bell, as well as a slew of economic data points coming out later this week. February’s personal consumption expenditures reading, the Fed’s favorite gauge of inflation, will be released Friday morning and will serve as a key input for central bankers when deciding the pace of rate cuts this year.
“The Fed’s Chris Waller may offer a rebuke of Jay Powell’s dovishness today. While not dismissing the prospect of a June cut, Waller may point to sturdy US aggregate demand and ‘sticky’ inflation in the January and February data to justify fewer rate cuts,” Thierry Wizman, a strategist at Macquarie said in a note on Wednesday.
Markets are largely expecting the Fed to cut rates three times by December, in line with what central bankers have forecast for the year. Investors are pricing in a 73% chance the Fed could cut rates 75 basis points or more, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Wednesday:
Here’s what else is going on today:
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
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Oil prices were little changed. West Texas Intermediate crude inched up to $81.66 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, traded slightly higher at $86.32 a barrel.
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Gold climbed 0.6% to $2,212.50 per ounce.
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The 10-year Treasury ticked lower four basis points to 4.19%.
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Bitcoin slipped 1.38% to $68,737.
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