Stocks End Mixed, All Eyes Of This Afternoon's FOMC Announcement Stocks closed mixed yesterday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in the red, while the Dow, small-cap Russell 2000 and mid-cap S&P 400 in the green. Early morning earnings yesterday from PayPal (positive EPS surprise of 23.96%) and Pfizer (positive EPS surprise of 33.33%) got things started off on the right foot. They were up 8.59% and 2.18% on the day. Stocks opened mostly higher. But soon came off their highs while the S&P and Nasdaq turned negative. The Case-Shiller Home Price Index rose 1.0% m/m (unadjusted) vs. last month's 1.4%. The y/y rate came in at 6.8% vs. last month's 7.3% pace, but in line with views. The FHFA House Price Index was flat (0.0%) m/m vs. last month's 0.3% and estimates for the same. The y/y rate was at 5.7% vs. last month's 6.5%. The Consumer Confidence Index rose to 100.3 vs. last month's downwardly revised 97.8 (from 100.4) and the consensus for 99.5. And the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report (or JOLTS for short), was at 8.184 million job openings vs. last month's 8.23M and expectations for 8.0M. After the close we got more earnings. Widely held Microsoft posted a positive EPS surprise of 1.72% and a positive sales surprise of 0.84%. That translated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of 9.67%, and a sales growth of 15.2%. Shares were -6% in after-hours trade. Advanced Micro Devices reported after the bell as well and posted a positive EPS surprise of 2.99%, and a positive sales surprise of 2.20%. That equated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of 19.0%, and a sales growth of 8.96%. They were up roughly 8% in after-hours trade. Starbucks also reported after the close and posted earnings in line with expectations, but a negative EPS surprise of -1.19%. That showed a quarterly EPS growth rate of -7%, and a sales growth of -0.65%. But they were up 0.98% in the regular session before earnings. And another 6% in after-hours trade following earnings. Today we'll get another 309 companies on deck to report earnings, including Mastercard, Boeing and Automatic Data Processing before the open, with Meta, Qualcomm and ARM Holdings going after the close. As for economic reports, we'll get MBA Mortgage Applications, the ADP Employment Report, the Employment Cost Index, the Chicago PMI, and Pending Home Sales. But the main event today will be the FOMC Announcement, followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's customary Press Conference. While nobody is expecting the Fed to cut rates today, the market will be listening for any clues as to when the Fed might begin to cut. There's a growing belief that they could cut as early as September. And investors will be looking for any signals that could either underscore that idea or undercut it. It should be noted that the September FOMC meeting is still a long 1½ months away. And things can change for the better or the worse. Nonetheless, careful attention will be paid to anything they say that could infer a timeline. Once the FOMC is behind us this afternoon, the market will pivot to Friday's Employment Situation report. A combination of easing inflation and a weakening labor market from the overly tight conditions we've seen for too long, would present the ideal situation to give the Fed the confidence they desire to cut rates sooner rather than later. But before that, we've got plenty of earnings reports to get through first, and this afternoon's Fed announcement. Should be a busy day, See you tomorrow,  Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research | 
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