FX.co ★ Dow Seeing Further Upside But Nasdaq, S&P 500 Giving Back Ground

Yesterday, major U.S. stock indices concluded in positive territory, but today has seen some divergence. While the Dow continues its upward trajectory, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have retreated.

At present, the Dow is up by 126.06 points or 0.3% at 39,131.55. In contrast, the S&P 500 is down by 5.09 points or 0.1% at 5,170.18, and the Nasdaq has lowered by 74.70 points or 0.5% to 16,190.94.

Part of the Nasdaq's decline is due to a weakened tech sector, marked by a 2.6% drop in Nvidia, a prominent AI company. Trading activity overall remains somewhat modest, possibly due to an absence of significant U.S. economic data that has kept some traders at bay. This might change in the coming days with the release of several key reports.

Thursday will see the Labor Department's release of producer price inflation data for February, which might provide further insight into the future of interest rates. Against January’s numbers, producer prices are expected to rise by 0.3% in February, while the annual rate of growth is anticipated to quicken to 1.1% from 0.9%.

Jobs and retail sales data will also be released on Thursday: it's expected that retail sales will recover following a drop in January. Friday's trading could be influenced by reports on import and export prices, industrial production, and consumer sentiment. The University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment report for March will be notable, as it includes data on inflation expectations.

Sector performance has been largely subtle today, contributing to the broader market's muted activity. However, energy stocks are experiencing significant growth, fueled by the sharp rise in crude oil prices. With April's crude price increasing by $1.63 to $79.19 a barrel, the NYSE Arca Oil Index has risen 2.0%, and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index, 1.7%.

Gold stocks are also benefiting from higher gold prices, exemplified by the 1.9% increase in the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. However, semiconductor stocks have significantly fallen, pulling down the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index by 2.0%.

In international trading, Asian Pacific markets yielded mixed results: China's Shanghai Composite Index decreased by 0.4%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.3%, while South Korea's Kospi increased by 0.4%. In Europe, all major markets have experienced growth; the French CAC 40 Index has risen by 0.7%, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index by 0.3%, and the German DAX Index by 0.1%.

The bond market continues the trend seen in the previous two sessions, with the benchmarks ten-year note yield, moving inversely to the price, increasing by 2.3 basis points to 4.178%.