US major indices are all closing at record levels as investors cheer the FOMC rate decision and comments from Fed Chair Powell. Although the chair was not overly committed to timing for interest rate cuts, he did reiterate that the high in rates was likely in place. What he and the Fed didn’t do was lower the number of cuts in 2024. The FOMC remains at three cuts for 2024. Investors breathed a sigh relief and bought.
The final numbers are showing:
- Dow industrial average rose 401.37 points or 1.03% at 39512.12
- S&P rose 46.11 points or 0.89% at 5224.63
- NASDAQ index rose 202.61 points or 1.25% at 16369.40
The small-cap Russell 2000 also rose with a gain of 39.17 points or 1.92% at 2074.88.
Some winners and losers today included:
- Doordash,+5.41%
- Celsius, +4.30%
- Ford Motor, +4.92%
- Shopify, +4.90%
- United airlines +4.71%
- American Airlines, +4.59%
- Delta Air Lines +3.74%
- Boeing +3.69%
- Broadcom +3.51%
- Chipotle +3.42% (they announced a 50:1 stock split)
Losers today included:
- Moderna, -1.93%
- Super Micro Computers -1.59%
- Box, -1.55%
- Chevron -1.40%
- Stryker, -1.03%
- AMD, -0.93%
- Boston Scientific, -0.53%
After the close, Micron announced earnings and beat expectations:
Earnings for 04 2023: BEAT expectations
- Adj. EPS: $0.42 (Beat expectations of -$0.25)
- Revenue: $5.824 billion (Beat expectations of $5.34 billion)
Earnings Expectations for 03 2024: Above expectations
- Adj. EPS View: $0.45 (Above expectations of $0.17)
- Revenue View: $6.6 billion (Above expectations of $5.976 billion)
Gross Margin for 03 2024: Significantly above expectations
- Gross Margin View: 25-28% (Far above expectations of 20.15%)
Additional Highlights:
- Increased AI demand and limited supply are accelerating the return to profitability.
- The company’s current product portfolio positions it well for a strong performance in the second half of 2024.
Micron shares are trading up $11.35 or 11.79% at $107.06.
Yields in the US moved lower in the short end, and were a touch higher in the longer end as the yield curve steppened:
- two year yield 4.610%, -7.9 basis points
- five year yield 4.253%, -5.0 basis points
- 10 year yield 4.280%, -1.7 basis points
- 30-year yield 4.459% +1.8 basis points