Stocks, Bond Lower Thursday

First Look

Stocks and bonds are lower Thursday morning. Yesterday's report on consumer prices for March showed inflation ticking higher, casting even more doubts on when and if the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates. Traders are getting closer to betting on one or two cuts of 25 basis points this year, compared to an expectation for around 150 basis points in cuts that was priced in at the start of 2024. The Nasdaq is down 0.37%, the Dow Jones is down 0.43%, and the S&P is down 0.48%.

Today's Sentiment

Quote of the Day

Negotiation in the classic diplomatic sense assumes parties more anxious to agree than to disagree.
Dean Acheson

Stocks on the Move

International Markets

Stocks in Asia are mixed. The Hang Seng is up 1.85%, the Mumbai Sensex (S&P BSE SENSEX) is down 0.08%, the Nikkei 225 is down 0.35%, the Australia ASX All Ordinaries is down 0.44%, and the Shanghai SE Composite Index is down 0.7%. Stocks in Europe are down. The DAX is down 0.76%, the Euro Stox 50 is down 0.67%, the FTSE 100 is down 0.34%, and the CAC 40 is down 0.27%.

Futures & Currencies

Energy futures are down today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is down $0.5 at $85.76 per barrel. Brent crude is down $0.5 at $90.15 per barrel. Natural Gas is down $0.01 at $1.86. Precious metals are mixed this morning. Gold is up $3.05 at $2336.22 per ounce. Platinum is up $6 at $970.5, while silver is flat $0 at $27.99. The dollar is mixed compared to the major currencies today. The greenback is up against the euro, up against the Yen, and down against the Pound. Bitcoin is up 2.17% to $70,516.55, while Ethereum is up 1.18% to $3,561.58.

Put/Call Ratio

Yesterday, 4,325,250 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 4,358,564 put contracts. The single-session put/call ratio was 1.01.

Today's Economic Calendar

Earnings Expected Today