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On Tuesday, amid expectations of important economic releases during the short holiday week, US stock markets fell, marking the third consecutive decline for the Dow Jones and Standard & Poor's 500 indexes. Investors are in a wait-and-see mood as they analyze potential changes in Federal Reserve policy.
Tesla (TSLA.O) rose 2.92% on CEO Elon Musk's announcement that he would test self-driving technology for the company's vehicles, available to both new and existing customers in the United States. Over the current week, the stock price has increased by about 4%, although during the year their quotes have decreased by more than 28%.
Market participants are particularly focused on the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's main tool for assessing inflation. It is expected that the latest data on this indicator will be published on Friday, a day when trading on American exchanges will not be held due to the celebration of Good Friday.
It is predicted that in February the inflation index will increase by 0.4%, reaching 2.5% at the annual level. Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy, is expected to rise 0.3% for the month, keeping annual growth at 2.8%, according to expert forecasts.
"Friday is key. All attention will be focused on this day, and any events before then will be perceived as background. Therefore, we should not expect significant changes in the market until the data is published," said Stephen Massocca, deputy president of Wedbush Securities. San Francisco.
"It would be extremely risky for the market if there were any speculation that Fed rates have not yet peaked. Any hint from the Fed that interest rates could be raised further could signal an immediate shift away from risk assets."
The U.S. economic sector is growing, with February orders for durable goods exceeding forecasts and equipment investment pointing to the start of a recovery. According to the Conference Board, consumer confidence remained virtually unchanged in March at 104.7.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 31.31 points, down 0.08%, to 39,282.33. The S&P 500 was down 14.61 points (down 0.28%) at 5,203.58, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 68.77 points (down 0.42%) at 16. 315.70.
Last week, all three major US indexes hit new all-time highs after the Federal Reserve confirmed its forecasts for three interest rate cuts this year.
Market expectations for the Fed to cut rates by at least 25 basis points in June continue to rise, now reaching 70.4% probability according to CME's FedWatch tool, up markedly from last week's 59.2%.
Shares of the media and technology group linked to Donald Trump rose 16.1% to close at $57.99 after temporarily hitting $79.38 on the first day of trading following its reverse merger with the company. , specializing in the issue of securities.
McCormick (MKC.N) jumped 10.52% to become the top gainer in the S&P 500, as its first-quarter sales and earnings beat market expectations.
Shares of Seagate Technology (STX.O) also posted strong gains, rising 7.38%, after analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded the hard drive maker's stock from overweight to overweight.
At the same time, United Parcel Service (UPS.N) shares lost 8.16% following the release of the company's 2026 guidance.
On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners outnumbered advancers by a 1.24-to-1 ratio. A similar trend was seen on the Nasdaq, where decliners outnumbered advancers by a 1.34-to-1 ratio.
Trading volume in US stock markets reached 10.43 billion shares, less than the average volume of 12.23 billion shares over the past 20 sessions. Trading activity is expected to remain moderate throughout the current week, and as the holidays approach, volumes may decline further.
The pan-European stock index STOXX 600 gained 0.24%, while MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares ex-Japan closed 0.25% higher at 535.59.
Market attention is focused on the Japanese yen, which remains at its weakest against the dollar since 1990 despite the Bank of Japan raising interest rates last week for the first time in 17 years.
The dollar strengthened 0.1% against the yen to hit 151.56, raising the risk of Japanese intervention to prevent further weakening of its currency. In October 2022, the dollar/yen exchange rate rose to 151.94, followed by a decline due to intervention.
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki on Tuesday expressed readiness to consider options to stabilize the yen, reiterating statements made the day before by the country's top monetary policy official.
The US dollar was marginally weaker, down 0.06% at 7.248 against the offshore Chinese yuan, which strengthened thanks to an unexpectedly high trading range setting. The yuan's fall the previous Friday, after a period of market volatility, had sparked concern among investors, with some speculation that China could loosen controls on its currency, allowing it to fall.
Spot gold rose 0.24% to $2,176.69 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures rose 0.09% to $2,176.80 an ounce. In the cryptocurrency space, Bitcoin lost 1.74% to $69,753.73, while Ethereum fell 1.55% to $3,572.7.
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