Trading was cautious this morning as Wall Street’s rally ran out of momentum, according to the Associated Press. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up just 0.1%. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% for just its third loss in the last 17 days. The Dow industrials dropped 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.6%.
Stocks have gained recently on rising hopes that inflation has cooled enough to make the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates a cut rather than a hike. The Fed’s main interest rate is at its highest level since 2001.
Deutsche Bank expects the U.S. economy to fall into a mild recession early in 2024 and the Fed to begin cutting rates in June. The rest of Wall Street is split on whether a recession could occur as the job market and inflation slow under the weight of high rates and yields.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.39% early today from 4.41% late Tuesday.
In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil shed 56 cents to $77.21 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 56 cents to $81.89 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 149.10 Japanese yen from 148.39 yen late Tuesday.
