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All Eyes on Fed Rate Decision: Key Stocks to Watch
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The Federal Reserve is set to wrap up its two-day policy meeting today.
Investors are hoping to avoid a replay of January’s outcome, which saw the worst performance for the S&P 500 on a Fed day dating back to March 2023 (and the fourth-worst since the central bank began the latest series of rate hikes).
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to keep rates steady amid a recent uptick in inflationary measures. Market participants are currently pricing in just a 2% chance of a rate cut this afternoon.
Inflation – A Thorn in the Fed’s Side
Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) conveyed the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation data from March, which showed prices increased 2.7% year-over-year. The figure came in ahead of views for 2.6% and was above February’s rise of 2.5%. The PCE index reflects changes in the prices of goods and services purchased by consumers.
Core PCE, which strips out the more volatile food and energy components and is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, came in at 2.8%, also above the consensus projection of 2.7%.
Lingering inflation makes the Fed’s job more difficult in that it is less likely to cut interest rates. The central bank would like to avoid a replay of the 1970s, a decade marred by high inflation and policy missteps.
Still, the underlying inflation trend remains down despite temporary flashes, as measures continue to head steadily lower off the 2022 highs.
Q1 Earnings Season Heats Up
We remain in the thick of the first-quarter earnings season, with more than 1,200 companies reporting this week.
The theme emerging from companies that have already reported results is one of resilience. Total S&P 500 earnings in Q1 are expected to be up 3.8% from the year-ago period on 3.7% higher revenues, which would follow the 6.8% earnings growth on 3.3% revenue gains from the prior period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Growth is set to accelerate in the coming quarters. Looking at the year as a whole, total 2024 S&P 500 earnings are projected to be up 8.3% on 1.7% revenue growth.
A big part of this year’s earnings growth is expected to come from margin expansion, reversing the declines from last year. The technology sector should drive the majority of the gains.
Stocks to Watch
Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) reported first-quarter earnings and sales that surpassed expectations, fueled by strong growth in its cloud-computing and advertising businesses. The tech giant earned $0.98/share on revenues of $143.3 billion, a 13% improvement year-over-year. Sales for the company’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud-computing division soared 17% versus the year-ago period to $25 billion.
Amazon, a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock, was trading roughly 2% higher in early Tuesday trading.
Image Source: StockCharts
On the other side of the tech front, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD - Free Report) delivered an in-line quarterly report yesterday evening. The company earned an adjusted $0.62/share on sales of $5.47 billion in the March quarter; earnings rose 3% year-over-year.
Image Source: StockCharts
AMD, also a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), was trading sharply lower in the early going this morning on relatively weak guidance. For the current quarter, the chip behemoth predicted sales of $5.7 billion (plus or minus $300 million). Analysts had been looking for Q2 revenue of $5.73 billion.
Social media company Pinterest (PINS - Free Report) surged more than 20% Wednesday morning after delivering Q1 results that exceeded projections. Pinterest said that it earned an adjusted $0.20/share on sales of $740 million during the quarter.
PINS is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock.
Image Source: StockCharts
In the year-ago period, Pinterest delivered adjusted earnings of $0.08/share on revenues of $603 million. The company also delivered strong guidance for the current quarter, expecting sales in a range of $835-$850 million. That would easily eclipse the $827 million in sales that analysts were previously anticipating.
Investors will be paying close attention to statements from Fed Chair Jerome Powell this afternoon during the 2:30 p.m. EST press conference. Keep an eye on leading stocks as volatility is sure to be present around the announcement.
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All Eyes on Fed Rate Decision: Key Stocks to Watch
The Federal Reserve is set to wrap up its two-day policy meeting today.
Investors are hoping to avoid a replay of January’s outcome, which saw the worst performance for the S&P 500 on a Fed day dating back to March 2023 (and the fourth-worst since the central bank began the latest series of rate hikes).
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to keep rates steady amid a recent uptick in inflationary measures. Market participants are currently pricing in just a 2% chance of a rate cut this afternoon.
Inflation – A Thorn in the Fed’s Side
Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) conveyed the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation data from March, which showed prices increased 2.7% year-over-year. The figure came in ahead of views for 2.6% and was above February’s rise of 2.5%. The PCE index reflects changes in the prices of goods and services purchased by consumers.
Core PCE, which strips out the more volatile food and energy components and is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, came in at 2.8%, also above the consensus projection of 2.7%.
Lingering inflation makes the Fed’s job more difficult in that it is less likely to cut interest rates. The central bank would like to avoid a replay of the 1970s, a decade marred by high inflation and policy missteps.
Still, the underlying inflation trend remains down despite temporary flashes, as measures continue to head steadily lower off the 2022 highs.
Q1 Earnings Season Heats Up
We remain in the thick of the first-quarter earnings season, with more than 1,200 companies reporting this week.
The theme emerging from companies that have already reported results is one of resilience. Total S&P 500 earnings in Q1 are expected to be up 3.8% from the year-ago period on 3.7% higher revenues, which would follow the 6.8% earnings growth on 3.3% revenue gains from the prior period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Growth is set to accelerate in the coming quarters. Looking at the year as a whole, total 2024 S&P 500 earnings are projected to be up 8.3% on 1.7% revenue growth.
A big part of this year’s earnings growth is expected to come from margin expansion, reversing the declines from last year. The technology sector should drive the majority of the gains.
Stocks to Watch
Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) reported first-quarter earnings and sales that surpassed expectations, fueled by strong growth in its cloud-computing and advertising businesses. The tech giant earned $0.98/share on revenues of $143.3 billion, a 13% improvement year-over-year. Sales for the company’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud-computing division soared 17% versus the year-ago period to $25 billion.
Amazon, a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock, was trading roughly 2% higher in early Tuesday trading.
Image Source: StockCharts
On the other side of the tech front, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD - Free Report) delivered an in-line quarterly report yesterday evening. The company earned an adjusted $0.62/share on sales of $5.47 billion in the March quarter; earnings rose 3% year-over-year.
Image Source: StockCharts
AMD, also a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), was trading sharply lower in the early going this morning on relatively weak guidance. For the current quarter, the chip behemoth predicted sales of $5.7 billion (plus or minus $300 million). Analysts had been looking for Q2 revenue of $5.73 billion.
Social media company Pinterest (PINS - Free Report) surged more than 20% Wednesday morning after delivering Q1 results that exceeded projections. Pinterest said that it earned an adjusted $0.20/share on sales of $740 million during the quarter.
PINS is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock.
Image Source: StockCharts
In the year-ago period, Pinterest delivered adjusted earnings of $0.08/share on revenues of $603 million. The company also delivered strong guidance for the current quarter, expecting sales in a range of $835-$850 million. That would easily eclipse the $827 million in sales that analysts were previously anticipating.
Investors will be paying close attention to statements from Fed Chair Jerome Powell this afternoon during the 2:30 p.m. EST press conference. Keep an eye on leading stocks as volatility is sure to be present around the announcement.