Stocks Drop as Banks Fall and Oil Prices Increase
March on Wall Street is similar to January and February. This is not even good news for investors. The Dow fell nearly 600 points on Tuesday, up 1.8% overall; One day after the shares ended, the second consecutive month of decline started the year. The Dow, however, managed to finish the day at a low level. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were also hit hard. Each index fell about 1.6%.
The rise in oil prices, which reached almost 10% on Tuesday and exceeded $104 a barrel, hurts the mood for the first time in seven years. So is the rapid decline in long-term bond yields. The 10-year treasury rate dropped to about 1.7%. This is the lowest since the beginning of January.
Low bond rates are bad news for financial firms; Who makes more money from credit transactions and other businesses when higher rates. American Express, JPMorgan Chase, Visa, and Goldman Sachs were among the biggest losers at Dow Tuesday. Investors are now betting that rates will stay pretty low for a while. Under futures contracts on the CME, traders even estimate a 2% chance that Federal Reserve rates will remain zero at the next meeting on March 16th.
Stocks and Fed Decision
The Fed is still widely expected to raise rates, though now by only a quarter of a point. A week ago, the market split over whether the Fed would raise rates by a quarter or half a point. The Fed chairman could discuss where rates are going during his congressional semester this week. He addresses the Financial Services Committee Wednesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
Chevron was Dow’s biggest profitable Tuesday; it Increased by almost 4%. The energy giant is enjoying higher oil prices, and the company has also increased its stock buying target this year. There were also retail promotions among the market winners on Tuesday. Target and Kohl’s noted that they are stronger than expected and have solid prospects for 2022. Target shares rose 10% due to the news. Kohl’s stock increased 2%. Dow components Walmart and Home Depot also grew.
