US open: Markets fluctuate on Wednesday as investors await Fed minutes
US stocks fluctuated early on Wednesday, as investors awaited the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting. Increasing concerns over the spread of Ebola in Europe continued to have an impact on the Eurozone markets, with the tourism and travel industry severely affected.
Monsanto Co.
$0.00
19:55 09/08/24
Symantec Corp.
$27.49
11:24 04/10/24
Yum! Brands Inc.
$136.57
10:59 04/10/24
The Federal Open Market Committee will release minutes from its 16-17 September meeting on Tuesday afternoon. After the meeting, policymakers pledged to keep interest rates near zero for a “considerable time” after ending bond purchases and they also anticipated a steeper increase in borrowing costs in 2015.
Investors are expected to look at corporate results for indications on the strength of the US economy, with Alcoa Inc. unofficially starting the earnings season after the close of markets on Wednesday.
Profit at companies on the S&P 500 index rose 4.9% between July and September period, according to analysts’ data.
The benchmark index has fallen 3.3% in the past month, the worst pre-earnings performance since 2009. The gauge has averaged a 2.2% gain in the month before earnings start since the bull market began.
In corporate news, Yum Brands rose slightly after a big selloff on Tuesday. The firm’s profit and outlook missed estimates and it drastically cut its expectations for full-year growth.
Costco Wholesale shares gained early on, after the company reported a 13% rise in profit on growth in same-store sales and higher sales from membership fees, while Kraft Foods advanced slightly after raising its quarterly dividend from 52.5 cents a share to 55 cents.
Symantec Corporation moved up after Bloomberg News reported the company could be looking at a split, while the price of Monsanto shares registered a slight increase after the seed firm forecast financial earnings for 2015 trailed analysts’ expectations.
West Texas intermediate lost almost 2% and was trading at just over $87 a barrel, while gold price increased slightly.
The 10-year Treasury note rose marginally to 2.34, while the 30-year Treasury note was largely unchanged and the five-year note dropped less than one basis point to 1.62.
Having registered losses on Tuesday, the dollar was on the rise against the pound, the euro and the yen at the beginning of Wednesday’s session.