Stocks ended higher Tuesday as Wall Street geared up for the upcoming Federal Reserve policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.83% to 39,110.76, while the S&P 500 gained 0.56% to 5,178.51, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.39% to 16,166.79.
Nvidia shares ended up 1.1% to $893.98, as investors kept an eye on the AI chipmaker's developers conference in San Jose.
The Fed's two-day policy meeting is scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
John Lynch, chief investment officer for Comerica Wealth Management, said the latest pricing data provides further evidence of stalling disinflation, giving monetary policy makers more reasons to hold off on cutting interest rates.
"Investors will look for some clarity from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at this week's meeting relative to the timing and magnitude of policy easing," he said. "We continue to look for three rate cuts, beginning in June, which should also coincide with the feds plans to begin monitoring the pace at which treasury and Wilkerson qualities roll off its balance sheet."
Updated at 12:38 PM EDT
Bullish turn
Stocks turned higher as markets entered the mid-day session, with the S&P 500 last marked 14 points, or 0.28% to to the good as Nvidia shares nudged higher and Microsoft MSFT caught a tailwind from the AI-investment hype with a series of management reshuffles.
The Nasdaq, meanwhile, was up 17 points, or 0.11%, with the Dow adding 255 points on the back of gains from McDonald's MCD, Home Depot HD and UnitedHealth UNH.
Related: Analysts revamp Nvidia price targets as Blackwell tightens AI market grip
Updated at 10:40 AM EDT
$100 Trillion industry
Nvidia shares drifted lower in early trading, but are holding firm to their $2 trillion market value, as CEO Jensen Huang unveils his vision for the AI chipmaker tied to what he calls "the single most important instrument in humanity": computing.
Huang told CNBC's Jim Cramer that the current market for all things computing is valued in the region of $100 trillion, with nearly all of it represented at the tech giant's GTC event in San Jose.
Related: Jensen Huang outlines a huge future for Nvidia
Updated at 9:35 AM EDT
Softer Open
Stocks opened lower, but with little-change from earlier pre-market levels, with the S&P 500 off 12 points, or 0.25%, in the opening minutes of trading.
The Dow, meanwhile, was little-changed from last night's close while a 1.3% decline for Nvidia pulled the Nasdaq 80 points, or 0.55%, into the red.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Mar. 19, 2024)$SPY -0.24% 🟥$QQQ -0.59% 🟥 $DJI +0.01% ⬜$IWM -0.21% 🟥
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) March 19, 2024
Stocks on move: $FUSN +97%, $UL +2.7%, $SNPS +1.7%, $ROKU +1.9%, $JWN +8.5% (🟢) || $SMCI -11.2%, $MSTR -13.5%, $NVDA -2.2%, $AFRM -2.3%, $MDB -2.8%, $BYND -3.6%, $TSLA… pic.twitter.com/MAPJsEa2Xv
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended higher on Monday, powered yet again by gains for the so-called Magnificent 7 as Nvidia (NVDA) unveiled its next-generation AI processor and reports suggested Apple (AAPL) was looking to embed Alphabet's (GOOG) Gemini technology into its iPhones and computers.
Nvidia's big unveiling, however, may fail to hoist rival chipmakers in early Tuesday trading as the market's hottest stock shied away from offering pricing details on its new Blackwell B200 chip but nonetheless solidified its dominance in the artificial-intelligence market.
Nvidia shares were marked 2.1% lower in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $866.24 each, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) fell 3.4% and Broadcom (AVGO) slipped 1.6%.
Investor focus is now likely to shift to the start of the Fed's two-day policy meeting in Washington, with eyes on the new Summary of Economic Projections, or dot plots, from Fed officials, expected at 2:00 pm Eastern Time.
Any change in the Fed's current forecast of around three rate cuts this year, linked to stubbornly high inflation and a resilient domestic economy, will have a big impact on Treasury bond yields as well as the broader market.
"Hawkish commentary from Fed Chair Powell in prior meetings, coupled with a string of hotter-than-expected inflation reports, have pushed expectations for the elusive initial rate cut to the summer," said Jason Pride, chief of investment strategy at Glenmede. "In addition, the latest update to the dot plot will be closely parsed, particularly if there are any changes to the median respondent’s expectations for 2024 rate cuts."
At present, investors put the odds of a Fed interest-rate cut in June at around 55%, down sharply from around 70% in the first week of February.
Fixed income investors will also be on high alert following the Bank of Japan's decision to raise interest rates for the first time in 17 years last night while ending its eight-year era of negative rates and loosening its grip on the Japanese government bond market.
The higher yields that are likely to follow could pressure U.S. Treasury bonds as Japanese investment funds repatriate their foreign investments in favor of better domestic returns.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields were holding steady at 4.322% in early New York trading following the Bank of Japan decision, while 2-year notes were pegged at 4.719%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currency peers, was marked 0.45% higher at 103.899 as the yen drifted to 150.53 following the historic BoJ decision.
On Wall Street, stocks are set for a modestly weaker open following last night's rally, with futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 indicating a 21 point opening bell decline.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are indicating an 80 point pullback while those tied to the tech-focused Nasdaq are suggesting a 120 point decline.
In Europe, the regionwide Stoxx 600 was little changed in early Frankfurt trading despite a benchmark survey showing German investor morale improved notably this month on the back of anticipated European Central Bank rate cuts.
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 ended 0.66% higher following the Bank of Japan's major policy moves, while the regionwide MSCI ex-Japan index was marked 1.01% lower heading into the close of trading.
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