NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes took a pause on Thursday after a surge in the previous session, helped by a batch of bumper earnings from major banks, while investors assessed data to gauge the outlook for interest rate cuts this year.
At 11:59 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 26.22 points, or 0.06%, to 43,247.77, the S&P 500 gained 5.34 points, or 0.09%, to 5,955.25 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 53.30 points, or 0.27%, to 19,457.93.
Morgan Stanley added 3.3% after the lender said earnings increased in the fourth quarter, fueled by a wave of dealmaking, while Bank of America slipped 1.2%. The country’s second-largest bank predicted higher interest income in 2025. Investors also focused on comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who said three or four interest cuts this year are still possible if economic data weakens further.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 4.617% and rate futures were pricing in about 43.5 basis points of rate cuts in 2025 after Waller’s remarks, from about 37 bps late on Wednesday, according to LSEG data.
“Anyone who’s going to try and project where we are with the unknowns of the new administration and more importantly what the tariffs will or will not do is a mistake,” said Phil Blancato, chief executive officer of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management.
“Right now you’ve got to accept that inflation’s been stickier than we expected, and on top of that, you have a scenario where you still have confusion around what’s next from a political standpoint.”
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to take office on Monday.
Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, with utilities’ and real estate stocks up over 1.5% each.
The S&P 500 equally weighted index rose 0.7%, while tech stocks Apple and Nvidia weighed on the Nasdaq.
On the data front, a report showed December retail sales increased less than expected, while another report said the number of jobless claims rose more than expected last week.
On Wednesday, Wall Street’s main indexes logged their biggest one-day jump since Nov. 6 after data indicated that underlying inflation was subsiding and three of the country’s biggest banks reported bumper results.
The S&P 500 banks index and the regional banks index have outperformed Wall Street’s top indexes so far in January, as investors anticipate a favorable business environment for the sector under Trump. The sentiment was reiterated by bank CEOs on Wednesday.
Of the 28 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported fourth-quarter earnings as of Wednesday, 82.1% have surpassed estimates, according to data compiled by LSEG.
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