US stocks mixed as traders eye potential pause in rate hikes

06 Jun, 2023

NEW YORK: US stocks were mixed on Monday, as Apple Inc hit a record high and investors weighed whether the Federal Reserve may pause its interest rate hikes at its upcoming policy meeting.

Apple was up 0.9% after the world’s most valuable company revamped its lineup of desktop and laptop Macs using its own processor chips ahead of its expected announcement of its first mixed-reality headset. Earlier it rose as much as 2.2% to a record high.

US stocks rallied on Friday after a report showed that wage growth moderated in May, raising bets that the central bank could skip a rate hike next week, while investors welcomed a Washington deal that avoided a catastrophic debt default.

Traders have priced in a nearly 80% chance that the Fed will hold interest rates at its June 13-14 policy meeting, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, although they expect another hike in July.

The S&P 500 was last down 0.03% at 4,280.95 points.

The Nasdaq gained 0.10% to 13,253.86 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.38% at 33,634.67 points.

Palo Alto Networks Inc climbed 5.5% as the cybersecurity firm looks set to replace Dish Network in the S&P 500 index. Dish shares fell 1.0%.

Big US banks slipped after the Wall Street Journal reported that US regulators were preparing to tighten rules for large banks, which could include raising their capital requirements by 20% on average. Of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, six declined, led lower by industrials, down 0.59%, followed by a 0.5% loss in financials.

Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 by a 1.3-to-one ratio.

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