Wall Street saw a muted trading session on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of Friday’s release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure.
In regulatory developments, U.S. banks passed the Federal Reserve’s 2024 stress tests, affirming their ability to meet minimum capital requirements even under severe economic distress. Regional banks, monitored by the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (NYSE: KRE), outperformed larger banks in the assessment.
By midday in New York, major indices posted slight gains, with small-cap stocks outperforming large-cap indices.
The semiconductor sector continued to struggle, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ: SOXX) down 0.7%, marking its fifth loss in six sessions. Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) dropped nearly 2%.
Treasury yields declined, indicating increased bond demand ahead of the inflation report. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 4 basis points to 4.29%, after an 8 basis-point rise on Wednesday. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury ETF (NASDAQ: TLT) gained 0.5%.
In the commodities market, lower yields and a slightly weaker dollar led to rebounds. Gold, tracked by the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD), rose 1.2%, recovering Wednesday’s losses, while crude oil edged up 0.7%.
Cryptocurrencies experienced gains, with Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) increasing by 1.3% and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) surging over 8% following VanEck’s application for a Solana ETF.
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