Stock market news live updates: Stock futures drift ahead of Fed meeting

Stock futures were mixed Wednesday morning as market participants awaited the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy decision and commentary later in the afternoon. Read More...

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Stock futures were mixed Wednesday morning as market participants awaited the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy decision and commentary later in the afternoon.” data-reactid=”16″>Stock futures were mixed Wednesday morning as market participants awaited the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy decision and commentary later in the afternoon.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="During the regular session Tuesday, the S&P 500 and Dow fell while the Nasdaq Composite rallied to a record closing high and briefly breached the 10,000 level during intraday trading. The big-tech FAANG names rallied, with each of Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) posting record closing highs on Tuesday.” data-reactid=”17″>During the regular session Tuesday, the S&P 500 and Dow fell while the Nasdaq Composite rallied to a record closing high and briefly breached the 10,000 level during intraday trading. The big-tech FAANG names rallied, with each of Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) posting record closing highs on Tuesday.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="On the other hand, the Dow dropped 300 points, or just over 1%, to end a six-session winning streak by Tuesday’s close. Shares of Boeing (BA) led declines, dropping for the first time in seven sessions after reporting a wave of new aircraft cancellations that outpaced new orders in May.” data-reactid=”18″>On the other hand, the Dow dropped 300 points, or just over 1%, to end a six-session winning streak by Tuesday’s close. Shares of Boeing (BA) led declines, dropping for the first time in seven sessions after reporting a wave of new aircraft cancellations that outpaced new orders in May.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Shares of cyclical companies that had led the recent equity rally fell Tuesday and extended losses Wednesday morning. Airlines including American Airlines (AAL) and United Airlines (UAL) along with leisure stocks Wynn (WYNN) and Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings (NCLH) sank. Car-rental company Hertz (HTZ) – which had posted a stunning advance of 521% between June 1 and Monday’s close – fell 24% on Tuesday, as investors abruptly halted a rally in the bankrupt company’s stock that had been driven in part by hopes of a quick economic reopening.” data-reactid=”19″>Shares of cyclical companies that had led the recent equity rally fell Tuesday and extended losses Wednesday morning. Airlines including American Airlines (AAL) and United Airlines (UAL) along with leisure stocks Wynn (WYNN) and Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings (NCLH) sank. Car-rental company Hertz (HTZ) – which had posted a stunning advance of 521% between June 1 and Monday’s close – fell 24% on Tuesday, as investors abruptly halted a rally in the bankrupt company’s stock that had been driven in part by hopes of a quick economic reopening.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Still, reopening remains front and center both for investors and policymakers. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said Tuesday he was signing an executive order ending the state’s stay-at-home order. The decision came a day after New York City kicked off its first phase of reopening, joining much of the rest of the state and country in helping drive renewed economic activity as new Covid-19 cases abate. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Yahoo Finance that he was working with the White House coronavirus task force to focus on states safely reopening at this point, after previously emphasizing flattening the curve in virus transmission.” data-reactid=”20″>Still, reopening remains front and center both for investors and policymakers. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said Tuesday he was signing an executive order ending the state’s stay-at-home order. The decision came a day after New York City kicked off its first phase of reopening, joining much of the rest of the state and country in helping drive renewed economic activity as new Covid-19 cases abate. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Yahoo Finance that he was working with the White House coronavirus task force to focus on states safely reopening at this point, after previously emphasizing flattening the curve in virus transmission.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Other areas of the market underscored investors’ rising optimism for equities as social distancing measures ease. Namely, very newly public companies performed strongly again on Tuesday, with shares of Tesla-competitor (TSLA) Nikola (NKLA) rising another 8.8% after doubling on Monday, though the stock pared gains in early trading. Shares of Vroom (VRM), the online auto-selling platform, closed out its first day of trading on the Nasdaq Tuesday at more than double their IPO level.” data-reactid=”21″>Other areas of the market underscored investors’ rising optimism for equities as social distancing measures ease. Namely, very newly public companies performed strongly again on Tuesday, with shares of Tesla-competitor (TSLA) Nikola (NKLA) rising another 8.8% after doubling on Monday, though the stock pared gains in early trading. Shares of Vroom (VRM), the online auto-selling platform, closed out its first day of trading on the Nasdaq Tuesday at more than double their IPO level.

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8:32 a.m. ET: Consumer prices fall for third consecutive month

An index of consumer prices fell in May for the third straight month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its report Wednesday.

The headline consumer price index (CPI) ticked down by 0.1% over last month, versus consensus expectations for no change, according to Bloomberg data. The CPI fell by 0.8% in April over the prior month.

Declines in prices for motor vehicle insurance, energy and apparel offset increases in prices in food and shelter.

Excluding food and energy prices, CPI still fell by 0.1% over the prior month, or a shallower drop than the 0.4% decline in April. CPI excluding food and energy rose 1.2% over last year, or slightly less than the 1.3% increase expected.

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7:21 a.m. ET Wednesday: Stock futures open slightly higher

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 7:21 a.m. ET:

S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,206.00, up 0.5 points or 0.02%
Dow futures (YM=F): 27,225.00, down 39 points, or 0.14%
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 9,993.50, up 42.5 points, or 0.43%
Crude (CL=F): -$1.03 (-2.65%) to $37.91 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): +$3.70 (+0.21%) to $1,725.60 per ounce
10-year Treasury (^TNX): -3 bps to yield 0.799%

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7:01 a.m. ET Wednesday: Home purchase applications rise for eighth straight week

An index tracking mortgage applications for home purchases rose 5%, seasonally adjusted, for the week ending June 5, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in its weekly report Wednesday.

This marked the eighth straight advance for the index in a protracted rebound from early April, when the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures were at their peak and led to a slump in housing market activity. The unadjusted index for purchases also rose 13% versus the same week last year.

Applications for refinances also increased, rising 11% over last week and 80% over the same week last year.

“Fueled again by low mortgage rates, pent-up demand from earlier this spring, and states reopening across the country, purchase mortgage applications and refinances both increased,” Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said in a statement. “The recovery in the purchase market continues to gain steam, with the seasonally adjusted index rising to its highest level since January.”

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