NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
But the Fed isn't the only game in town. Here's 5 things to wrap your head around:
1. Markets, Fed taper and dot plot: The Dow, S&P 500 and were Nasdaq flat in morning trading. U.S. stocks closed with gains Tuesday, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
The key question today for investors is whether the Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates by the end of the year or wait until 2015.
It is widely expected that the Fed will reduce its asset purchase program by another $10 billion and hold its key federal funds rate unchanged (at near zero rates). The real action will come when Janet Yellen speaks at a press conference afterward.
The markets will also be monitoring the "dot plot," the Fed's version of a straw poll of its board members views on interest rates. The dot plot comes out every quarter and it has shown more and more optimism about the economy -- and higher interest rates -- from Fed officials.
Most investors expect rates to rise in 2015. An increase before that could rattle markets or even stunt growth. Waiting too long to raise rates could cause bubbles.
Related: Fear & Greed Index still extremely greedy
2. Another strong tech day for tech -- Blackberry, Amazon, Adobe: Blackberry (BBRY, Tech30) popped after the struggling smartphone maker announced that the Amazon Appstore will be available on its new operating system that's launching in the fall. The move significantly expands the number of apps available to Blackberry users.
Blackberry is in the midst of trying to execute a turnaround, and lately, investors have seemed please. The stock is up 15% in the past month, though it is still down almost 45% for the past year.
Related: Meow! BlackBerry has more lives than a cat
Speaking of Amazon (AMZN, Tech30), the tech giant will be in the spotlight today when its CEO Jeff Bezos unveils a still-unknown product that is widely suspected to be a high-end smartphone. The stock moved higher in morning trading ahead of the announcement, which will take place near the company's Seattle headquarters.
Adobe (ADBE) spiked around 9% after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results Tuesday evening. The company, which is behind the popular Photoshop software, said revenue in the period was driven by the acceleration of its cloud business.
3. Other movers and shakers -- FedEx, ConAgra: FedEx (FDX) has finally stopped blaming the weather. The company released strong earnings Wednesday and shares got a nice lift over 4.5%. That was compared to last quarter, when FedEx claimed that its operating income would have been $125 million higher if not for the unusually harsh winter weather earlier this year.
ConAgra Foods (CAG) shares sunk after the company cut its profit outlook for the three months ending in May, citing challenges from some of its retail brands, including Chef Boyardee.
Related: CNNMoney's Tech30
4. Iraq still violent, but markets less nervous: Tom Elliot, international strategist at the deVere Group financial consultancy, said markets were remarkably "placid" in the face of violent upheaval in Iraq.
He said that investors "no longer have to jump up and down with worry and fear every time an oil field in the Middle East changes hands" because the U.S. is less dependent on foreign oil thanks to the energy boom.
Related: Energy company stocks at record highs because of Iraq, Russia turmoil
To that end oil markets have leveled off since jumping initially in the face of Iraq tensions. Crude oil is still trading below $107 a barrel. Gold, often seen as a safe haven in times of turmoil, is off its highs from the end of last week as well when the crisis first grabbed headlines.
5. International markets: European stock markets were mixed in afternoon trading.
Russia's main index rose after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko discussed the possibility of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. The ruble made similar gains versus the U.S. dollar.
Asian markets ended with mixed results. The Nikkei in Japan rose by nearly 1%, but markets in India and China were in negative territory.
Investors will continue to watch Argentinian markets, since many fear the country could be close to defaulting on its debt.
First Published: June 18, 2014: 9:52 AM ET
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