The First Slice for Friday, February 2, 2024

U.S. stock indexes bounced back on Thursday, shaking off the recent two-day decline as investors eagerly awaited earnings reports from tech giants Apple Inc., Amazon.com, and Meta Platforms. The past few days saw Wall Street’s worst performance since October, largely driven by comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Powell’s statement on Wednesday, which downplayed the likelihood of a rate cut in March, initially disappointed investors. However, the market’s reaction suggests a belief in the possibility of future rate cuts.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 369.54 points, or nearly 1%.
The S&P 500 rose 60.54 points, or 1.3%.
The Nasdaq Composite surged 197.63 points, or 1.3%.

Simultaneously, the regional banking sector drew attention due to New York Community Bancorp’s significant stock plunge, fueled by concerns in the commercial real estate market. This incident raised questions about the overall health of the banking system, particularly smaller banks, after the Fed ended its term funding program initiated last spring.

In addition to these factors, investors were gearing up for earnings releases from Big Tech companies that have been major drivers of the S&P 500’s performance over the past year, including Apple, Meta, and Amazon. The jobless claims data showed a slight uptick, indicating potential softening in the robust labor market, while manufacturing indicators painted a mixed picture of the U.S. economy’s performance…………[read more]

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