NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes were mixed in choppy trading on Monday following the latest batch of economic data as investors try to gauge the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs on the world’s largest economy.
Retail sales rebounded marginally in February, but fell short of expectations. A separate report showed factory activity in New York State plummeted this month by the most in nearly two years.
The Fed’s rate decision is slated for Wednesday, with market expectations firmly anticipating the US central bank will maintain current interest rates, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Focus will be on commentary from the central bank on economic growth or inflation concerns.
Some investors continued “buying the dip” from Friday’s session, with the equally weighted S&P 500 index rising 0.9%.
Eight of the 11 S&P 500 subsectors rose, while technology stocks weighed on the S&P 500 index.
Analysts said Wall Street was in oversold territory last week as both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted their fourth straight weekly losses, with the Dow also sliding.
“What you’re seeing today is a follow through from Friday’s rally. We were very technically oversold,” said Dennis Dick, a trader at Triple D Trading.
Over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned in an interview that there are “no guarantees” the United States will escape a recession.
US President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes will drag down growth in Canada, Mexico and the United States while driving up inflation, the OECD said as it lowered its global economic outlook and warned that a broader trade war would sap growth further.
Trump has made it clear there will be no exemptions for steel and aluminum tariffs, with reciprocal and sectoral tariffs poised to take effect on April 2.
“We’ve got a 10 to 12 day window where stocks might find a little bit of footing. However, as the April 2 deadline approaches, it could bring us down again,” Dick added.
At 11:46 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 162.46 points, or 0.39%, to 41,650.65, the S&P 500 gained 3.28 points, or 0.06%, to 5,642.22, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 78.98 points, or 0.44%, to 17,675.11.
Tesla declined 6.4%, weighing on the consumer discretionary sector. A report showed brokerage Mizuho lowered its price target on the EV maker’s stock.
Quantum computing stocks such as D-Wave Quantum and Quantum Corp rose 8.9% and 21%, respectively, ahead of AI chip firm Nvidia’s annual conference.
The blue-chip Dow index was close to correction territory, about 2% away, while the other main indexes have confirmed correction.
Intel rose 7.4% after a report said incoming CEO Lip-Bu Tan has considered significant changes to its chip manufacturing methods and artificial intelligence strategies.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 3.48-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.71-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted nine new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 32 new highs and 86 new lows.
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