Stocks are trying to put their best rebound foot forward after losing their rebound momentum yesterday in the midst of Fed Chair Powell's press conference.
So far, nothing has tripped them up in a broad sense, but it's worth noting that the S&P 500 faces some overhead resistance at its 200-day moving average (4433). It would be another step in the right rebound direction if it can clear that technical hurdle with some gusto. That hasn't happened yet as the peak of the morning rally effort thus far sits at 4428.74.
Be that as it may, all 11 S&P 500 sectors are in positive territory, led by energy (+1.8%), communication services (+2.1%), and materials (+2.0%).
The consumer discretionary sector (+0.2%) is today's laggard, feeling the drag of losses in Tesla (TSLA 882,00, -55.41, -5.9%) despite the company posting better-than-expected Q4 sales and earnings results.
Semiconductors are also on the soft side of things after Intel (INTC 48.32, -3.37, -6.5%), Lam Research (LRCX570.46, -26.21, -4.4%), and Teradyne (TER 103.96, -39.41, -27.5%) all provided disappointing guidance. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is down 1.9%.
Some other striking moves include the jump in the 2-yr note yield (+8 bps to 1.16%, but it had hit 1.20% earlier) and the strength in the U.S. Dollar Index (+1.2% to 97.17). These moves reflect the pickup in rate-hike expectationsthat were fueled yesterday by the Fed Chair and which have manifested themselves in the fed funds futures market. The latter is now pricing in the probability of five rate hikes in 2022, up from four before the Fed Chair delivered his remarks.
Separately, the advance Q4 GDP report showed real GDP increased at an annual rate of 6.9% (Briefing.comconsensus 5.6%), bolstered by a big gain in private inventory investment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 1.4%; the S&P 500 is up 1.3%; the Russell 2000 is up 1.2%; and the Nasdaq Composite is up 1.0%.
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