new york –
Stock markets have drifted on Wednesday as Wall Street continues to prepare to keep rates higher for longer.
The S&P 500 was down 0.2% in its first trading session after a frigid February. As of 9:40 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17 points, or 0.1 percent, to 32,674, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2 percent.
After a strong start to the year, the stock market is struggling as inflation data piles up and the economy overall remains more resilient than expected. That forced many investors to postpone recession forecasts later in the year and also raised expectations about how high the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates.
Higher interest rates can depress inflation, but they also hurt the economy by making borrowing more expensive and later increasing the risk of a recession.
Several major retailers have already provided disappointing forecasts for next year, given the challenges facing U.S. households due to high inflation and other factors.
Ross Stores was one of the more recent entrants, down 2.3% despite better-than-expected earnings and earnings in its most recent quarter. It showed earnings forecasts for the year below Wall Street expectations.
The company’s CEO, Barbara Rentler, said the company wants to be conservative given there are so many uncertainties about the economy and the world. said it continues to hit middle-income customers.
Vaccine company Novavax plunged 25.8% after warning there was “substantial doubt” over whether it would be able to remain in business for the next year. Last year his net loss was $657.9 million.
Overseas stock markets rose after encouraging data on the world’s second largest economy.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 4.2%, while Shanghai stocks rose 1%. This comes after reports of manufacturing in China showed a strong recovery after antivirus restrictions were lifted late last year. This follows a slump in activity that took economic growth to his 3% last year, his second lowest since at least the 1970s.
In the bond market, the 10-year US Treasury yield rose from 3.93% to 3.95% late Tuesday. It helps set interest rates on mortgages and other loans that shape the economy.
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Contributed by AP business writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott
