S&P 500 ends little changed as early gains fade before Fed decision

S&P 500 ends little changed as early gains fade before Fed decision

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Tue September 17, 2024 6:38 PM

All three indexes were up considerably in the morning, the Dow gaining over 230 points by 10:30 to reach a 2^nd consecutive intraday record high. The S&P and Nasdaq followed similar suit being way up in the morning but falling to negative levels almost immediately thereafter to reach the day’s low by 12:30 and then beginning a jagged recovery, the Dow closing just slightly in the red while the Nasdaq eked out a modest gain and the S&P closing flat.  Why all this volatility?  Well, half the market is hoping for a ¼ point cut and the other half for a ½ point cut tomorrow so, either way you look at it, half of the market is going to be disappointed.  

¼ point means we’re not doing enough to pump up the economy, ½ means not enough to avoid recession. For all the many months the markets have been awaiting a rate cut, now there’s nothing but ambivalence about it.  But with strong evidence of much resilience left in the economy and a forecast for a soft landing, the ½ point is still being increasingly favored by the odds-makers, the odds now at 65:35 vs yesterday at 60:40 vs last week at 15:85.  Volume came in at 10.23 billion, a little below the 4-week average of 10.74 billion. 

DJ: 41,622.08  +228.30      NAS: 17,592.13  -91.85       S&P: 5,633.09  +7.07        9/16

DJ: 41,606.18  -15.90         NAS: 17,628.06  +35.93      S&P: 5,634.58  +1.49        9/17

Tue 9-17-24 6:38 pm S&P 500 ends little changed as early gains fade before Fed decision | Reuters