U.S. markets declined on Tuesday as the rally in the technology sector appeared to lose steam ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting.
Wall Street’s major indexes closed Monday with modest gains, continuing their upward trend over the last three sessions. However, they are set to post April losses of around 2.4% and 3.6%, due largely to profit-taking after the strong first-quarter rally and traders’ dismissal of any early rate cuts this year.
Rate cut forecasts are lowered ahead of the Fed meeting
The Federal Reserve begins its final two-day meeting to set monetary policy later today, potentially dampening economic activity.
The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged, though Chairman Jerome Powell may provide clear guidance on the path of interest rates, especially following a series of above-target inflation readings.
Higher rates for an extended period would adversely affect equity markets as they suppress economic activity and curb speculation by limiting liquidity.
First-quarter results from Amazon and Coca-Cola
The first-quarter earnings season continues Tuesday with a series of vital results.
The major companies scheduled to report include Amazon (AMZN), Coca-Cola (KO), Starbucks (SBUX), Mondelez (MDLZ), Eli Lilly (LLY), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), 3M Company (MMM), and PayPal (PYPL).
In other news, Paramount Global (PARA) announced the resignation of CEO Bob Bakish amid discussions of a potential merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
On Tuesday, HSBC (HSBC) announced that CEO Noel Quinn will retire after nearly five years, during which he led a significant transformation that markedly improved the bank’s financial health.
