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Wall Street stocks fall as markets weigh strong wage data, Fed meeting

Published 04/30/2024, 05:59 AM
Updated 04/30/2024, 06:56 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A trader works, as a screen broadcasts a news conference by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell following the Fed rate announcement, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 20, 2024. REUTERS/Brend
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By Chibuike Oguh

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as markets weighed economic data showing rising labor costs and deteriorating consumer confidence on the day of a key Federal Reserve policy meeting to decide the direction of interest rates.

Data showed on Tuesday that U.S. labor costs rose by a more-than-expected 1.2% last quarter, indicating an uptick in wage pressures. A survey also found that U.S. consumer confidence worsened in April, dropping to its lowest level in more than 1-1/2 years.

The reports came a day before the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) ends its two-day meeting, with investors widely expecting the central bank to leave interest rates unchanged.

Most Magnificent Seven stocks finished lower, including Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).

"We're still in an environment where the knee-jerk reaction is to extrapolate any warmer data into firmer inflation and more hawkish reaction from the Fed," said Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers in Boston.

"But nothing has changed: growth is still strong, labor markets are holding up, and ultimately we're taking a little bit of breather in the disinflation process," Melson added.

Money markets are pricing in just about 31 basis points (bps) of rate cuts this year, down from about 150 bps estimated at the start of 2024, according to LSEG data.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 79.92 points, or 1.56%, to end at 5,036.25 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 325.26 points, or 2.00%, to 15,664.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 574.08 points, or 1.47%, to 37,823.57.

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Shares of GE HealthCare (NASDAQ:GEHC) shrank after its first-quarter revenue missed analyst estimates, 3M gained after posting a better-than-expected quarterly profit.

Drugmaker Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) jumped after it raised its full-year profit forecast. PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) rose after raising its full-year adjusted profit forecast.

Of the 265 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date for the first quarter, 79.2% have beat analyst estimates, compared with the long-term average of 67%, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data.

(This story has been refiled to reflect that the Federal Reserve policy meeting is on Tuesday, in paragraph 1)

Latest comments

SP500 rose over 25% on rate cut hopes over the last 6+ months. Look out below. 2700-2900 before 6000.
Apart from 'hopes', there are real economic data and corporate results - these are driving the markets beyond 'hopes', on fundamentals. Rate cuts or not are not important as such, as long as the economy is strong. In developing countries 5-10% rates are normal, usual thing, and economies grow on double digits.
Except that the US economy isn't growing. The ONLY source of 'growth' is coming from the government. Government hiring and government spending are the ONLY parts of the economy that are showing any kind of strength. The private sector is struggling, and has been for the last year.
@Mark: No. Federal spending has gone down and GDP has gone up every year of Biden's term. GDP grew despite the end of covid-19 stimulus.
Fed may have to raise rates. Cuts are off the table until 2025. Otherwise wage spiral will be unstoppable. Typical household savings are in the dumps. Getting to the point where it is not laughable whatsoever. Admin keeps spending on top of it. Wars adding more inflation. Scary to be sure. Fed cannot get caught up in politics at the expense of its citizens.
It's a little late for that... The economy is screwed no matter what the Fed does. If they lower rates, inflation skyrockets. If they RAISE rates, the bond market and banks get clobbered, along with the residential real estate market. If they do NOTHING, we're left with the inflation we're already dealing with. Option three is probably the BEST course of action, but the Fed has never been known for doing what's best for America.
rising gov't employment costs...government has to cut. it's a dead-end. get these people into productive jobs.
Well written and spot on. Thanks!
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