The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY snapped a three-week losing streak as investors digested the latest interest rate commentary from Federal Reserve officials.
On Thursday, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he does not see a need for the Fed to increase the pace of its interest rate hikes from 0.25% to 0.5%, even after January inflation data came in hotter than anticipated.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller took a more hawkish tone on Thursday, arguing that terminal interest rates may end up higher than the Fed's current projected range of between 5.1% and 5.4% if inflation remains elevated.
Comerica Bank's Chief Economist Bill Adams said Friday the most likely case for interest rates is for the Fed to raise the fed funds target a quarter percentage point at each of their next three decisions, to a range of 5.25%-5.5%, and hold it at that level through March 2024 when cooler inflation should allow the Fed to begin reducing interest rates to a less restrictive level.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on two cases challenging the Biden administration's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for certain American borrowers. A group of Republican state attorneys general have made the case that it was unconstitutional for the administration to enact the program without authorization from Congress.
Related Link: Supreme Court Student Loan Forgiveness Case Starts This Week: What Investors And Students Should Know
On Thursday, shares of cryptocurrency bank Silvergate Capital Corp SI plummeted 57% after the company delayed its annual financial report and warned investors that it may not survive the recent "crypto winter."
In a Wednesday afternoon filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Silvergate said it is “analyzing certain regulatory and other inquiries and investigations that are pending.”
Electric vehicle company Tesla Inc TSLA unveiled its latest "master plan" at its highly anticipated analyst and investor meeting on Wednesday afternoon, but Tesla shares dropped 5.9% on Thursday amid criticism from analysts that the presentation by CEO Elon Musk lacked clarity and details. Musk reiterated Tesla's goal of increasing its annual EV production from 1.3 million vehicles in 2022 to 20 million by 2030.
Related Link: Tesla Investor Day 'Long On Aspiration, Short On Details:' Analyst Explains After-Hours Stock Slump
On Cloud Nine: Salesforce Inc CRM shares rallied 12% on Thursday after the cloud software vendor reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beats and announced it is doubling its share buyback program from $10 billion to $20 billion.
In the week ahead, investors will get more quarterly reports from Sea Ltd SEA on Tuesday and Gap Inc GPS, JD.Com Inc JD and Oracle Corporation ORCL on Thursday.
At least 325 S&P 500 companies have mentioned "inflation" during their fourth-quarter earnings calls, according to FactSet.
Economic Numbers: Following Federal Reserve members' mixed commentary on interest rates, Wall Street will get more key economic updates on Tuesday and Wednesday when Fed Chair Jerome Powell gives his Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress and on Friday when the U.S. Department of Labor releases its February jobs report.
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