Thursday,
March 7, 2024
Market recap
Dow Jones
38,661.05
+75.86 (+0.20%)
S&P 500
5,104.76
+26.11 (+0.51%)
Nasdaq
16,031.54
+91.96 (+0.58%)
Top Story
What’s going on with the price of gold?
Precious metals are rallying. Silver, and palladium prices are soaring, while gold prices have hit new record highs. We break down what could be behind this safe haven boom.
U.S. stocks rebounded on Wednesday and gold rallied.
• Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell still expects 2024 interest rate cuts but said the central bank won’t move until it is confident inflation is moving sustainably toward its 2% target.
• The U.S. added 140,000 private sector jobs in February, according to the ADP Employment Report, more than the previous month, but still below estimates.
What to be on the lookout for today
• January trade balance and weekly jobless claims. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will also continue his two-day testimony on Capitol Hill.
• In earnings, American Eagle Outfitters, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Broadcom, Costco, DocuSign, Gap, and Kroger will report.
Spring is in the air for the markets
A change of the seasons is upon us. And with the most recent batch of earnings in the rear-view mirror, it’s a good time to take stock (pun intended).
Earnings growth blew expectations out of the water this past reporting season. While on average two-thirds of companies tend to beat consensus estimates, what happened in recent months was remarkable, all thanks to you, the American consumer.
Consumer spending is vital for the U.S. economy, and thus also for company earnings. Worries that persistent inflationary pressures are weighing too heavily on Americans are still present, but the past round of corporate reports showed little sign of them.
Now what does all this mean for the next earnings season? SoFi’s Investment Strategy team breaks it down.
Today's top stories
CEO confidence is back with a vengeance After years of uncertainty and worries about consumer spending, CEO sentiment is on the upswing. Here’s what business leaders believe 2024 has in store. Read more >> How some families can save on college costs Many universities provide tuition benefits to the children of employees, including, in some cases, covering the cost of tuition entirely. But there’s a catch. Read more >> You’ve been scammed. Now what? Scams are common and come in many forms. Case in point, the FTC received fraud reports from 2.4 million people in 2022. Here is how to recover if it happens to you. Read more >>Other news that caught our eye
- Ikea is launching a collection of office furniture that reflects the changed work environment and hybrid schedules.
- The OpenAI-Elon Musk saga goes on with OpenAI releasing screenshots of emails alleging Musk once suggested making OpenAI for-profit and merging with Tesla as a way to compete with Google.
- In sandwich news, Costco is replacing its $9.99 roast beef sandwich food court item with a $6.99 turkey Swiss sandwich.
- Moderna plans to cut its research and development costs and diversify its commercial drug offerings amid waning demand for its COVID-19 vaccine.
Financial planner tip of the day
“No matter how you prefer to pay for purchases, checking your bank and credit card statements regularly for suspicious or erroneous charges can help you spot fraudulent activity right away. You may want to do this daily during periods of high usage, like around the holidays when it’s easier for fraudulent charges to slip through.”
Brian Walsh, CFP® at SoFi