Wall Street experienced a sluggish session, with investors closely monitoring macroeconomic data for insights into the health of the economy and inflation trends. Before the market opened, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy grew at a slightly slower pace in the fourth quarter of 2023 than previously estimated: GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.2%, down 0.1 percentage points from the initial estimate.
In terms of inflation, the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Prices rose by 1.8% (2.1% in the core reading, which excludes food and energy), 0.1 percentage points higher than the initial estimate.
Other data revealed that U.S. inventory levels fell in January, contrary to expectations of an increase; weekly mortgage applications also continued to decline.
Tomorrow, important data on personal spending and personal income will be released, along with the PCE price index, also known as the PCE deflator, an indicator of the average price increase for all domestic personal consumption.
Regarding companies that released quarterly earnings before the bell, Novavax predicted flat or declining revenues in 2024, while the Royal Bank of Canada reported that its first-quarter profit rose to $3.6 billion. Last night, Beyond Meat announced it would increase product prices and drastically cut costs, eBay reported quarterly results above expectations, and Bumble forecasted disappointing revenues for the first quarter.
Looking at the major U.S. stock indices, the Dow Jones trimmed 0.56%, continuing the downward trend marked by three consecutive declines since last Monday; similarly, the S&P 500 slightly dropped, remaining below parity at 5,064 points. The Nasdaq 100 also saw a fractional decrease (-0.46%); similarly, the S&P 100 was slightly below parity (-0.31%).
