narvikk
US stocks on Wednesday moved higher in what is expected to be a relatively quiet trading session ahead of a keenly anticipated inflation report on Thursday.
By mid-day, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP.IND) had added 1.00% to 10,850.28 points, helped by a more than 4% jump in shares of Amazon (AMZN).
The benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) pink 0.62% to 3,943.67 points, while the blue-chip Dow (DJI) advanced 0.29% to 33,802.04 points.
Of the 11 S&P sectors, nine were trading in the green, led by Real Estate and Consumer Discretionary. Consumer Staples and Health Care were the two losers.
Tuesday was also a mostly uneventful trading session as investors await Thursday’s December Consumer Price Index report and the start of fourth-quarter earnings with results from major banks on Friday.
“Markets have … been relatively quiet over the last 24 hours as we await tomorrow’s all important US CPI print,” Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said. “There was some speculation that remarks from Fed Chair Powell could inject some volatility into proceedings but overall markets turned steadily higher after his lack of commentary on the policy outlook at his panel in Stockholm.”
Thursday’s CPI report may show some moderation in inflation. That could give the Federal Reserve room to slow down its pace of rate hikes while buttressing expectations that the central bank can downshift to a 25 basis point hike at its next meeting in February.
On the economic calendar on Wednesday, the January Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations came in at +3% versus a prior reading of +3.1%.
Turning to the bond markets, yields were mixed after rising in the previous session. The 10-year Treasury yield (US10Y) was down 4 basis points to 3.58% and the 2-year yield (US2Y) was lower by 1 basis point to 4.25%.
The Treasury will auction $32B in 10-year Notes this afternoon.
“It will be intriguing to see how the US 10yr auction goes today,” ING said. “The 3yr auction yesterday saw stellar demand, but that is to be expected as that’s a value part of the curve given the extreme inversion.”
“The 10yr is a different proposition. It requires investors to believe that market rates are set to fall, else why not buy shorter dates at a higher running yield?”
Among active stocks, Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) surged nearly 50% as part of a relief rally and was among the top percentage gainers on the Nasdaq Composite (COMP.IND).
WWE (WWE) was lower after Vince McMahon resumed chairmanship of the company.