Stocks Steady as Federal Reserve Signals End to Tightening

Stocks closed out the trading session on Monday with little change after logging their best week this year. Investors are hopeful that the Federal Reserve is ready to call an end to tightening, leading to a positive outlook in the market.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the benchmark S&P 500 both saw gains, with the Nasdaq ticking up by 0.3% and the S&P 500 gaining about 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also increased by 0.1% or roughly 35 points.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note ticked up about 10 basis points to trade near 4.66%. This comes after major US stock indexes soared on Friday following news that US jobs growth slowed more than expected and wage inflation cooled, fueling optimism for an end to Fed interest rate increases.

Investors will be closely watching for confirmation from several Fed officials speaking this week, including Chair Jerome Powell. However, some on Wall Street have cautioned that the optimism may be overdone, warning of potential volatility in stocks.

Looking ahead, there is a stream of quarterly earnings reports to come, with Disney’s results due on Wednesday. In commodities, oil prices jumped after Saudi Arabia and Russia confirmed they will continue with additional production cuts, leading to an increase in crude futures.

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