Traders Hold Breath For Powell's Remarks, Bitcoin's Wild Ride Unleashed: What's Driving Markets Thursday?

The stock markets is in a lackluster session on Thursday, with traders eagerly awaiting more clues on monetary policy from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who is set to deliver live remarks at 2 p.m. in Washington.

In other Fed commentary, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin emphasized the need for an economic slowdown to complete the disinflation process and reach the 2% target.

Bitcoin BTC/USD experienced a rollercoaster ride, surging as much as 6.5% at 10 a.m. only to nearly erase its gains by noon trading in New York.

Jitters returned to the Treasury market, with yields surging significantly on the long end of the curve. The 30-year yield increased by 11 basis points to 4.73%, while the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT declined by 1.5%.

The S&P 500 is on a eight-day winning streak, while the Nasdaq 100 has risen in each of the last nine sessions.

Cues From Thursday’s Trading:

The S&P 500 hovered around flat trading, while blue-chip stocks in the Dow Jones were a tad lower.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 inched 0.1% higher, while small caps fell 0.2%

US Index Performance On Wednesday

Thursday’s Trading In Major US Equity ETFs

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was flat at $437.37.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA held steady at $341.12.
• The Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ rose 0.15% to $373, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Looking at S&P 500 sector ETFs:

• The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC was the outperformer, up 0.7%.
• The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund XLV was the laggard, down 1.5%.

Upcoming Economic Data:

The Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims were 217,000 for the week ending Nov.4, marginally lower than the revised 220,000 of the prior week, and broadly in line with the expected 218,000.

The Treasury will auction 30-year bonds at 1 p.m. ET.

Fed Chair Powell will participate in a panel discussion at the IMF at 2 p.m. ET.

See also: Best Futures Trading Software

Stocks In Focus:

• Walt Disney Company DIS rallied over 7% as investors reacted positively to its fourth-quarter earnings report and the management commentary on the call.
• Among the other stocks moving on earnings news are Affirm Holdings, Inc. AFRM (up over 17%), HubSpot, Inc. HUBS (down over 4%), AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. AMC (down about 11%), Luminar Technologies, Inc. LAZR (down about 14%), Viasat, Inc. VSAT (up over 9%), MGM Resorts International MGM (flat), Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. SPCE (up over 24%), AstraZeneca plc AZN (up over 1%) and Becton, Dickinson and Company BDX (down 8%),
• Companies reporting after the close include Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. ALRM, Blink Charging Co. BLNK, DoubleVerify Holdings, Inc. DV, Hologic, Inc. HOLX, Illumina, Inc. ILMN, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. LGF LGF, Navitas Semiconductor Corporation NVTS, News Corporation NWSA, Unity Software Inc. U, SoundHound AI, Inc. SOUN, Plug Power, Inc. PLUG and Wynn Resorts, Limited WYNN.

Commodities, Bonds, Other Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil rose 0.6%, with a barrel of WTI-grade crude trading at $76. The United States Oil Fund ETF USO was 0.7% higher to $70.66.  

Treasury yields were slightly higher, with the 10-year yield up by 8 basis points to 4.57%. The US Treasury Note ETF UTEN was 0.6% lower.

The dollar held steady, with the U.S. dollar index, which is tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP flat. The EUR/USD pair, which is tracked by the Invesco CurrecyShares Euro Currency Trust FXE, was unchanged at 1.07.

European equity indices had a positive session. The SPDR DJ Euro STOXX 50 ETF  FEZ rose 1%. 

Gold rallied 0.6% to $1,961/oz, while silver rose 1.3% to $22.82. Bitcoin BTC/USD was 2.2% higher to $36,441.

Staff writer Piero Cingari updated this report midday Thursday. 

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