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Stock Market Today: August 20, 2024

August 20, 2024

Stocks got the week off to a strong start, with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ both marking their eighth-consecutive winning session. However, the futures are pointing to a mixed open for today’s trading. In Asia, markets mostly gained ground, once again led by a 1.8% increase for Japan’s Nikkei Index. Meanwhile, stocks in Europe are showing slight losses. Elsewhere, oil prices steadied, with West Texas Intermediate near breakeven at around $74.40 a barrel.

Taking a look at the U.S. economic calendar for this week, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) last meeting on Wednesday. Investors will be poring over the report for more detailed insights into the central bank’s next steps on monetary policy. Meanwhile, Thursday kicks off the three-day annual Economic Symposium held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. There too, traders will be interested in hearing the comments and speeches from central bankers and other financial officials from around the globe. As it currently stands, Wall Street is expecting the Federal Reserve to cut its overnight lending rate by at least a quarter percentage point at its next meeting in September.

Also on Thursday, the Department of Labor will release its report on initial jobless claims. Analysts are calling for an increase of 6,000 versus the week before, to 233,000 claims. That same day, the National Association of Realtors will announce the tallies for existing home sales for July. Consensus expectations are pointing to an increase to 3.92 million units, compared to 3.89 million the month before.

Friday brings an additional data point on the housing market with the Census Bureau report on new home sales. Estimates are calling for July’s tally to come in at around 628,000 units, up from the 617,000 homes reported for June. That same day, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is due to give a speech at Jackson Hole.

Summing up Monday’s moves for the major U.S. indexes, the Dow Jones Industrials gained 236 points, or 0.6%, the S&P 500 rose 54 points (1.0%), and the tech-laden NASDAQ led the pack finishing 245 points ahead, for an increase of 1.4%. - Mario Ferro

At the time of this article’s writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.

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