U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday, even as Wall Street processed hawkish rate talk from Federal Reserve officials and remarks on inflation from Chair Jerome Powell at an event hosted by Sweden’s central bank.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added nearly 200 points, or 0.6%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) advanced 1%, moving up for a third-straight day.
Powell reiterated the importance of stable inflation in a speech Tuesday at the Symposium on Central Bank Independence in Stockholm, Sweden. He said leveling out prices can require the Fed to take actions that are necessary, even if often unpopular.
“The case for monetary policy independence lies in the benefits of insulating monetary policy decisions from short-term political considerations,” he said.
Elsewhere in a busy week of Fedspeak, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman asserted on Tuesday that there remains more work to do on fighting inflation despite recent improvements in the data. She said the Fed will continue raising interest rates to reach its 2% long-term price stability goal.
“I am committed to taking further actions to bring inflation back down to our goal,” Bowman said at the Florida Bankers Association Leadership Luncheon in Miami, Florida.
In specific market moves, shares of Coinbase (COIN) rose 13% after the cryptocurrency exchange said it would cut nearly 1,000 jobs as part of a restructuring plan. The company expects to incur roughly $149 million to $163 million in restructuring expenses. The move will mark the third round of layoffs for Coinbase since last year.
Shares of billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Holdings (VORB) plunged 14% after one of the company’s rockets failed to reach its target orbit in a highly anticipated space mission due to a technical failure.
Investors continued to watch shares of beleaguered retailer Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) as it reported earnings that missed estimates, just one week after revealing the company was considering bankruptcy due to its financial struggles. The meme stock spiked nearly 28% on Tuesday after a 24% surge Monday.
“As we shared last week, we continue to work with advisors as we consider all strategic alternatives to accomplish our near- and long-term goals,” CEO Sue Gove said in an update Tuesday, adding that “multiple paths are being explored.”
Bumble (BMBL) shares rose 7% after KeyBanc upgraded the female-founded dating app from Sector Weight to Overweight and said the “competitive environment appears stable, and economic pressures are easing.”
Oak Street Health (OSH) shares spiked 27% after Bloomberg News reported Monday that CVS Health is exploring an acquisition of the operator of primary care centers.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on January 09, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Tuesday’s moves come after a mixed start to the week that saw the technology-heavy Nasdaq extend gains from a rally Friday while the other two major averages failed to sustain momentum. The Nasdaq rose 0.6% on Monday, while the S&P 500 and Dow each closed down 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively, following hawkish remarks from two other Federal Reserve officials.
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said during a live-streamed interview with the Wall Street Journal that she expects policymakers will raise interest rates to somewhere above 5%, while adding that the final rate will ultimately depend on the path of inflation.
Echoing that view, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic also said the U.S. central bank should raise interest rates above 5% by early in the second quarter and then hold them there for a “long time.”
“I am not a pivot guy,” Bostic said in remarks at the Atlanta Rotary Club on Monday. “I think we should pause and hold there, and let the policy work.”
Thursday will bring investors December’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) – perhaps the most important economic release of the month and the last significant reading before Federal Reserve officials meet Jan. 31-Feb. 1 to deliver their next interest rate increase.
Economists expect headline CPI rose 6.6% over the prior year in December, a downshift from the 7.1% increase seen in November, according to data from Bloomberg. On a month-over-month basis, CPI likely stayed flat.
The report is likely to sway bets on whether the Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 0.25% or 0.50% at the start of next month.
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
TORONTO – Thomson Reuters reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue rose eight per cent.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$301 million or 67 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of US$367 million or 80 cents US per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.72 billion, up from US$1.59 billion a year earlier.
In its outlook, Thomson Reuters says it now expects organic revenue growth of 7.0 per cent for its full year, up from earlier expectations for growth of 6.5 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 80 cents US per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 82 cents US per share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 76 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
