Stock Market Today: Stocks Slump Ahead of Tech Earnings, Fed Meeting
A busy week on Wall Street kicked off with losses for the major benchmarks.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Today
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more delivered daily. Smart money moves start here.
Sent five days a week
Kiplinger A Step Ahead
Get practical help to make better financial decisions in your everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals.
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Closing Bell
Get today's biggest financial and investing headlines delivered to your inbox every day the U.S. stock market is open.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Adviser Intel
Financial pros across the country share best practices and fresh tactics to preserve and grow your wealth.
Delivered weekly
Kiplinger Tax Tips
Trim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Retirement Tips
Your twice-a-week guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirement
Sent bimonthly.
Kiplinger Adviser Angle
Insights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Investing Weekly
Your twice-a-week roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries you should consider, ones you should avoid, and why.
Sent weekly for six weeks
Kiplinger Invest for Retirement
Your step-by-step six-part series on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose.
Stocks closed lower Monday as caution set in ahead of a busy week on Wall Street.
In addition to a jam-packed earnings calendar that features trillion-dollar tech titans Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOGL), there's a full economic docket too – one that includes a Fed meeting and the monthly jobs report.
"This week's big tech earnings will enable investors to learn whether or not the economy is slowing and investors will see which companies are strong enough to weather the potential for tough times, and which companies will struggle," says David Trainer, CEO of investment research firm New Constructs. "We expect the stock market to be more discerning as it awards the stronger companies with more value, while sending the stocks of weaker companies lower, a dynamic that sounds simple, but didn't occur in 2020 and 2021."
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Ahead of this busy batch of tech earnings, the Nasdaq Composite underperformed today, shedding 2.0% to 11,393. The S&P 500 gave back 1.3% to 4,017, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 33,717.
Investors are also keeping a close eye on this week's gathering of Federal Reserve officials. For those who have been wondering, "when is the next Fed meeting," the answer to that question is tomorrow, though the policy announcement is not due until Wednesday afternoon.
Wall Street expects the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to hike its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points (0.25%). The tone of this meeting will likely be similar to the December one, says Jonathan Pingle, economist at UBS Global Research: "A smaller rate hike as the terminal rate nears, a Fed more confident inflation is peaking, but also an FOMC that thinks it is too soon to signal a stop."
Meanwhile, Pingle anticipates "a very solid gain" in the January jobs report, which will be released Friday morning. And this, he adds, "should keep more rate hikes in play."
The Best AI Stocks to Buy
Today's price action from tech stocks marks a change of pace to what has so far been a hot stretch for the beaten-down sector. "The script has been flipped in 2023," say Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist, and Jeffrey Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial. "Last year's underperformers have turned into outperformers this year, driving the S&P 500 Index up [roughly] 5% this month." And the Nasdaq is up nearly 9% after plunging more than 33% in 2022.
Turnquist and Buchbinder add that several seasonality indicators – including the Santa Claus rally and the fact that we're in the third year of a presidential cycle, which tends to be bullish for stocks – "suggest the path of least resistance for the broader market is likely higher for the year." The longer-term selloff in tech certainly creates opportunities for investors to scoop up some of the best growth stocks at a bargain. Artificial intelligence (AI) companies, in particular, are poised for impressive growth over the next decade – and that should mean great things for Wall Street's best AI stocks.
-
Strong Jobs Report Leaves Markets Flat: Stock Market TodayInvestors, traders and speculators are taking time to weigh the latest labor market data against their hopes for lower interest rates.
-
Is There a Downside to Switching Your Insurance Frequently?You keep finding lower rates every time you shop for insurance. Is there any reason not to take the better deal?
-
Is Prepaid Wireless Making a Comeback — and Can It Lower Your Phone Bill?Once seen as a budget alternative, prepaid wireless is attracting new attention as networks improve and shoppers look for flexible, lower-cost options.
-
Strong Jobs Report Leaves Markets Flat: Stock Market Today
Investors, traders and speculators are taking time to weigh the latest labor market data against their hopes for lower interest rates.
-
Job Growth Sizzled to Start the Year. Here's Why It's Unlikely to Impact Interest RatesThe January jobs report came in much stronger than expected and the unemployment rate ticked lower to start 2026, easing worries about a slowing labor market.
-
I'm a 55-Year-Old Dad. Here’s How My 28-Year-Old Daughter Showed Me That AXP Is Still a Solid InvestmentAmerican Express stock is still a solid investment because management understands the value of its brand and is building a wide moat around it.
-
Dow Hits New High Ahead of January Jobs Report: Stock Market TodayA weak reading on December retail sales was in focus ahead of Wednesday's delayed labor market data.
-
Tech Stocks Fuel Strong Start to the Week: Stock Market TodayThe blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average extended its run above 50,000 on Monday and there are plenty of catalysts to keep the 30-stock index climbing.
-
Why the Next Fed Chair Decision May Be the Most Consequential in DecadesKevin Warsh, Trump's Federal Reserve chair nominee, faces a delicate balancing act, both political and economic.
-
Dow Adds 1,206 Points to Top 50,000: Stock Market TodayThe S&P 500 and Nasdaq also had strong finishes to a volatile week, with beaten-down tech stocks outperforming.
-
Stocks Sink With Alphabet, Bitcoin: Stock Market TodayA dismal round of jobs data did little to lift sentiment on Thursday.
