Stocks turn positive as Fed decision looms

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• Tue, March 19, 2024 at 6:31 PM GMT+2

  Stocks turn positive in afternoon trading

  Investors shifted directions Tuesday afternoon and sent all three major indexes into green territory, as Wall Street braced for the Fed’s press conference Wednesday, and the next indication of where interest rate policy is headed.

  The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.2%, beating back earlier losses, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.6% or more than 200 points, coming off a winning day for the major gauges. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) climbed just over the flatline after treading in the red earlier in the day.

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  Tue, March 19, 2024 at 5:45 PM GMT+2

  Japan ends era of negative rates

  The world’s last remaining negative interest wait is no more, after the Bank of Japan, the final major holdout, put an end to an aggressive monetary stimulus program designed to pull the economy out of a slump.

  Japan’s central bank on Tuesday ended its negative policy rate of minus 0.1% and replaced it with a target range of 0.0-0.1%. The hike, the first in 17 years, marks an end of en era in which major central banks engaged in an unconventional experiment in the aftermath of the global financial crisis to fuel growth.

  The long-held interest rate policy, along with other measures to inject money into the economy, “have fulfilled their roles,” said Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda.

  In contrast to the US Federal Reserve, which is expected to begin lowering rates this summer after years of fighting off historic levels of inflation, Japan’s central bank has been wrestling with a different problem: the need for growth. Japan suppressed borrowing costs to encourage consumers and business to spend, giving the economy a much needed boost. Inflation has exceeded the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for more than a year.

  Media reports earlier this week indicated the move was coming, muting the impact on the market Tuesday. Market. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained close to 0.7% on Tuesday, while the dollar held at about 150 yen.

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  Tue, March 19, 2024 at 5:00 PM GMT+2

  How the realtor settlement could hurt homebuyers

  The major realtor lawsuit settlement that may free home sellers from heavy commissions could have a negative impact on a group already beleaguered with higher interest rates and elevated home pricers.

  Homebuyers, squeezed by lack of inventory, could soon be on the hook for paying agent commissions, reports Yahoo Finance’s Rebecca Chen.

  Under the longstanding system, homeowners looking to list their property are typically liable for both seller and buyer commissions. They sign a contract specifying the percentage of the commission split — traditionally each party takes 3%. But if the settlement is approved by a federal judge, the long-standing standard 6% commission would be eliminated and buyers would be responsible for their own agent compensation.

  Under the new model buyers would have to come up with the money to pay their agent, on top of shelling out a down payment, financing and closing costs.

  Experts also doubt that the settlement will push home prices downward, since economic factors like supply and demand are what’s keeping homes expensive. And as Yahoo Finance’s Myles Udland writes, the Fed’s crude interest rate policy lever isn’t designed to cope with housing affordability either.

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  Tue, March 19, 2024 at 4:15 PM GMT+2

  Stocks trending in morning trading

  Here are some of the stocks leading Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers page during morning trading on Tuesday:

  Unilever (UL): The consumer goods giant rose 2% to start the trading day after it announced plans to spin off its ice-cream business — which includes Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, and Klondike — and a restructuring plan that could impact 7,500 jobs as part of an effort to save more than $800 million over the next three years.

  Bitcoin (BTC-USD): The dominant cryptocurrency is on track to suffer its biggest daily drop in two weeks, as investors continue to flee from the token after it recently hit an-all time high. Bitcoin was changing hands at $63,000, a fall of about 7%.

  Nvidia (NVDA): Fresh off its annual developers conference, the AI darling lost 3% after it unveiled its latest AI chip, which it said is up to 30 times speedier than its predecessor.

  Super Micro Computer (SMCI): Shares of the server manufacturer sank 11% after it said it plans to sell 2 million shares. The company plans to use the roughly $2 billion in proceeds to support operations and boost manufacturing capacity. The stock offering comes as Super Micro’s shares have skyrocketed this year, more than tripling on the demand for AI technology.

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  Tue, March 19, 2024 at 3:34 PM GMT+2

  Stocks slide before Fed meeting

  Wall Street pulled back some as Federal Reserve officials began their two-day huddle to decide their next move on interest rate policy.

  The S&P 500 (^GSPC) slid roughly 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose above the flatline, coming off a win on Monday for the major indexes. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) dropped about 0.5% as AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) retreated after sharing AI updates from its annual developer conference.

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  Tue, March 19, 2024 at 2:30 PM GMT+2

  The bottom line on Nvidia

  Nvidia’s (NVDA) stock didn’t do too much on day one of its GTC conference despite an impressive array of new product introductions.

  But that doesn’t mean what the company unveiled was disappointing — quite the contrary! I actually think everything CEO Jensen Huang showed off is so complex, it could take a few days for investors to digest and assess if the stock warrants another push higher.

  Wall Street was pleased with what they heard.

  Here’s what JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur had to say:

  “Overall, the team is further distancing itself with its aggressive cadence of new product launches and more product segmentation over time. With leading silicon (GPU/DPU/CPU), hardware/software platforms, and a strong ecosystem, Nvidia is well positioned to continue to benefit from major secular trends in AI, high-performance computing, gaming, and autonomous vehicles, in our view. Bottom line: NVIDIA continues to be 1-2 steps ahead of its competitors.”

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  Tue, March 19, 2024 at 2:15 PM GMT+2

  The AI stock bubble…or not

  As Nvidia’s (NVDA) GTC conference continues out on the West Coast, it feels natural for BofA’s new fund manager survey out today to weigh into the AI stock bubble debate.

  The end result: institutional investors have no clue if this is a bubble!