The markets were positive on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3%, the S&P 500 rising 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite adding 0.5%. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both gained 1.2% and 1.6%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 2%.
C3.ai (AI (opens in new tab)) saw a dramatic rise of 33.7% in their stock price after releasing their earnings report.[0] The company, which specializes in enterprise artificial intelligence software, had a better-than-expected third quarter with a loss of 6 cents per share on revenue of $66.7 million. This was narrower than what had been predicted.[1] C3.ai expressed optimism regarding their revenue outlook for the present quarter.[1]
Fed Chief Jerome Powell is set to begin two days of congressional testimony Tuesday, where he’ll have the chance to explain the central bank’s planned response to a more resilient economy.[2] Investors will be closely monitoring the Federal Reserve’s March 21-22 meeting for clues as to the size of the quarter-percentage-point rate hike which was implemented last month.[3]
Raphael Bostic of the Atlanta Federal Reserve stated that the central bank might possibly halt its rate increases in the summer months, which caused sentiment to become more positive.[4] Despite Bostic and other Federal Reserve officials expressing that they will still be reliant on data, investors interpreted his words as being dovish.[4]
On Wednesday, the data released showed that the ISM Manufacturing PMI for February rose to 47.7 from January’s 47.4, however still remaining in contraction for the fourth consecutive month.[5] The ISM Manufacturing Prices Paid Index was 51.3 in February, up from 44.5 in January, and surpassing expectations of 45.1. This indicates that the deflation of goods has ceased.[6]
Raphael Bostic, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, suggested that interest rates should go up beyond 5%.[5] He stated in an online essay that the key rate should remain at its current level until at least 2024.[5]
In the bond markets, the 10-Year rates for the United States have decreased to 4.005%, a decrease of 1.[7] The Nasdaq increased by 2.0%, reaching 11,689, the S&P 500 rose 1.6%, settling at 4,045, and the Dow rose 1%.
0. “Dow Jones Indexes Rise On Strong Business Activity; AI Stock Surges After Earnings; Tesla’s China Deliveries Up” Investor’s Business Daily, 3 Mar. 2023, https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-other-indexes-strengthen-in-afternoon-trading-this-index-outperforms-market
1. “Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Snaps Weekly Losing Streak” Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, 3 Mar. 2023, https://www.kiplinger.com/investing/stocks/stock-market-today-030323-sandp-500-snaps-weekly-losing-streak
2. “Dow Jones, Nasdaq, S&P 500 weekly preview: Stocks rally could extend – analysts By Investing.com” Investing.com, 6 Mar. 2023, https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/dow-jones-nasdaq-sp-500-weekly-preview-stocks-rally-could-extend–analysts-3022985
3. “Futures: Will Powell Testimony Threaten Stock Market Rally?” Investor’s Business Daily, 6 Mar. 2023, https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-futures-will-powell-testimony-threaten-stock-market-rally-apple-tesla-in-focus
4. “S&P 500 Notches Best Week Since Late January: Markets Wrap” Yahoo News, 3 Mar. 2023, https://news.yahoo.com/asia-stocks-set-rise-wall-225254432.html
5. “S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq slump again on ongoing Fed concerns” Seeking Alpha, 1 Mar. 2023, https://seekingalpha.com/news/3942838-sp-500-dow-nasdaq-slump-again-on-ongoing-fed-concerns
6. “Stocks Mixed Before The Open As Bond Yields Tick Higher On Fed Concerns, ECB Minutes In Focus” Barchart, 2 Mar. 2023, https://www.barchart.com/story/news/14699726/stocks-mixed-before-the-open-as-bond-yields-tick-higher-on-fed-concerns-ecb-minutes-in-focus
7. “Dow futures tick lower after first positive week in four By Investing.com” Investing.com, 5 Mar. 2023, https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/dow-futures-tick-lower-after-first-positive-week-in-four-3022334