Wall Street Today | Meme Stock-Heavy Reddit Meets All-Time High Market
RECAP
Markets climbed after investors watched Fed President Jerome Powell unveil the median target Federal Funds rate of 4.6% by year-end. A day later, stocks were still hitting all-time highs: if the market loves anything, it's predictability.
The $S&P 500 Index climbed past a record by 0.32% to its 20th record close this year. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.67% to a record close, and the $Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.20%, toward an all-time high.
All eyes watched the Reddit IPO launch in public trading shortly after 1:20 p.m. EST. The stock started above the target $34/share price at $47/share and jumped 60%. The stock closed up 57% to $50/share.
MACRO
FOMC Keeps Things The Same
Thursday, the market climbed after the Federal Open Market Committee decided rates should remain unchanged at 5.25% - 5.5% Wednesday. Federal Reserve President Jerome Powell held a press conference to describe the dot plot projection of where rates will be at the end of the year.
Powell said, "If the economy evolves going forward, the appropriate level of the federal funds rate will be 4.6% at the end of this year."
The dot plot shows the FOMC member's prediction for the appropriate range to target for the Federal Funds Rate. The dot plot shows median rates coming down to 4.6% this year and down to 2.5% by 2026, and Powell said rates were unlikely to return to the pre-pandemic 0% rate.
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims
Thursday, the Department of Labor said 210,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits in the past week. Last week there were 212,000 unemployment filings. New jobless claims have ranged from 194,000 to 225,000 per week in the first three and a half months of 2024, which is extremely low from a historical perspective.
Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast new claims to total 213,000 in the seven days ending March 16, based on seasonally adjusted figures.
SECTORS
Oil Closes Down
Oil futures declined on Thursday, pressured in part by concerns over the outlook for energy demand.
West Texas Intermediate crude $Crude Oil Futures(JAN5) (CLmain.US)$ fell 20 cents, or nearly 0.3%, to $81.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. May Brent crude, the global benchmark, declined by 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $85.78 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. April gasoline shed 0.2% to $2.73 gallon, while April heating oil lost 1% to $2.67 a gallon. Natural gas for April delivery settled at $1.68 per million British thermal units, down 0.9%.
Oil prices ended lower for a second session, with U.S. and global benchmark crude easing back after settling Tuesday at their highest level since late October.
COMPANIES
Micron Hits All-time High After Beating Earnings
$Micron Technology climbed 14% as the computing giant posted earnings that beat expectations Wednesday. Its shares surged Thursday, reaching $ 113.50, an all-time high, based on data back to 1984. In recent trading, shares were up over 14% at around $110.40.
Reddit Stock Opens For Trading At $47: Everything You Need To Know
$Reddit (RDDT.US)$ Shares of the social media platform opened for trading at about $47 a share Thursday, well above the expected range.
Apple Sued For Monopoly
The Justice Department sued $Apple (AAPL.US)$ on Thursday, alleging the tech giant blocked software developers and mobile gaming companies from offering better options on the iPhone, resulting in higher prices for consumers. According to WSJ. It was the stock's worst day since August.
Guess Beats Earnings
$Guess climbed 22% after the firm reported quarterly earnings of $2.01 per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.56 by 28.85%. Quarterly sales clocked in at $891.05 million, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $855.54 million, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Five Below Comes In Far Below Expectations
$Five Below fell 12% after the retailer's earnings report on Wednesday did not impress. The company reported quarterly earnings of $3.65 per share, up from $3.07 per share in the same period last year.
Source: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, CNBC, Reuters
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