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Gold prices jumped in electronic trading Wednesday following the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting. Gold for April delivery traded at $1,238.30 an ounce, up $5.00, or 0.4% higher than the $1,233.30 an ounce settlement on Wednesday. Gold settled lower Wednesday for a third drop in a row.
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The U.S. dollar weakened against its major rivals on Wednesday, turning negative against both the yen and the euro after the Federal Reserve said there was considerable uncertainty surrounding fiscal policy, something investors have been looking to boost the dollar and stoke inflation. The U.S. dollar index fell slightly on the day, after having risen by about 0.2%. The comments, which were released as part of minutes from the Fed’s most recent meeting, said that uncertainty over the Trump administration’s fiscal policies were a major stumbling block. The minutes also revealed that “many” Fed officials had expressed support in raising interest rates “fairly soon,” adding to the growing consensus that a rate hike could be announced at the March meeting, something that had been considered unlikely a few weeks ago. Among specific currencies, the dollar fell 0.4% against the yen, erasing an early advance. The euro traded at $1.0567 from $1.0546 late Tuesday, a gain of 0.2%. It had previously dropped by roughly the same amount.
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The Trump administration will release a budget proposal in mid-March, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday. Spicer did not provide details but said the administration wants to make sure the government spends more responsibly. President Donald Trump held meetings on the budget Wednesday with officials including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 33 points in afternoon trade, putting it on track for a ninth-straight record close, but market internals suggested the overall stock market was in decline. The number of declining stocks outnumbered advancers by a 1,725-to-1,108 margin on the NYSE, and by a score of 1,613 to 963 on the Nasdaq exchange. Volume in advancing stocks represented 35.1% of total NYSE volume and 42.5% of total Nasdaq volume. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1%. Within the Dow, 15 of 30 components traded higher, but all the Dow’s gains are in effect coming from two stocks. The $3.20-gain in DuPont & Co.’s stock and the $1.86-rise in 3M Co. shares are adding a combined 35 points to the Dow’s price. The Dow has now rallied 723 points, or 3.6%, over the past nine session.
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DuPont & Co.’s stock surged $3.04, or 3.9%, in midday trade Wednesday, enough to push the Dow Jones Industrial Average into positive territory, after The Wall Street Journal reported that European regulators were set to clear the chemical company’s merger with Dow Chemical Co. . The stock’s price gain was adding about 21 points to the Dow, which was up 9 points. That compares to the S&P 500’s 0.2% decline and the Dow Jones Transportation Average’s 1.3% drop. Dow Chemical’s stock rallied 4.1% in midday trade. The Dow and DuPont merger deal is on track to win regulatory approval from the European Union’s antitrust regulator before the April deadline, after the company offered earlier this month to sell some businesses, according to the WSJ report.
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Shares of First Solar Inc. fell more than 7% on Wednesday as analysts with Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to their equivalent of sell, from hold. The timing on several of the company’s projects this year poses risks to estimates, and next year’s projects seem “unlikely to support” earnings growth, the analysts said in a note. The analysts also lowered their price target on the stock to $29, from $30, implying a 12% downside to Wednesday’s prices. First Solar late Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings and sales that beat Wall Street expectations.
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Standard & Poor’s on Wednesday upgraded Alphabet Inc.’s corporate credit rating to AA-plus from AA and said the outlook is stable, citing the Google parent’s improving operational performance of the past few years. The rating is the second highest in S&P’s scale, just below the coveted AAA rating. The move “reflects Alphabet Inc.’s consistently strong operating performance, despite a challenging and evolving digital advertising market, while it continues to maintain a conservative financial policy and strong liquidity profile,” said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst David Tsui. The company has a leading position in desktop and mobile search ad markets, robust technology and user data and the intellectual and financial capital to allow it to exploit new opportunities and defend itself against new competitors, said Tsui. With about $90 billion of revenue in 2016, the company is much bigger than its nearest competitor in online search and display advertising, he added. Alphabet’s most active bonds, the 1.998% notes due to mature in August of 2026, were last quoted at about 93 cents on the dollar, according to MarketAxess.
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The euro on Wednesday was paring its loss against the dollar following reports that French centrist politician Francois Bayrou will not run for president and instead back Emmanuel Macron, a centrist candidate. The shared currency was changing hands at $1.0543, after trading below $1.05 ahead of the news. Analysts have said the euro could fall to $1.03 if the prospects for populist Marine Le Pen becoming the country’s next president keep strengthening. Macron is believed to have a good chance of beating Le Pen if a second round of voting were needed.
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Shares of Hawaii-based ocean shipping company Matson Inc. tumbled 10% toward a 7 1/2-month low in morning trade Wednesday, pressuring the Dow Jones Transportation Average to underperform the broader stock market by a wide margin, after a disappointing fourth-quarter report and outlook. Matson reported late Tuesday revenue that topped expectations but missed on profit, and said first-quarter ocean transportation income is expected to be less than half of what it was a year ago. The stock’s price drop of $3.63 shaved about 22 points off the Dow transports. The index was down 100 points, with 19 of 20 components losing ground, compared with a 2-point, or less than 0.1% decline, in the Dow Jones Industrial Average . Among the other biggest decliners within the Dow transports, shares of United Parcel Service Inc. slid 1.7%, of JetBlue Airways Corp. shed 1.6% and of CSX Corp. gave up 1.4%. The lone gainer was Expeditors International of Washington Inc.’s stock , which tacked on 0.5%.
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Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw further pressure Wednesday, a day after the two over-the-counter stocks plunged in the wake of a federal appeals court upholding a decision that investors could not sue to overturn the sweep of the mortgage buyers’ profits to the U.S. Treasury. Fannie shares were recently down 4% and Freddie Mac was down about 1%.
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