With the dawn of a new quarter, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index has given hope of a rate cut in the near future.
The market kicks off the week with hopes of an interest rate cut in the new quarter
With the dawn of a new quarter, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index has given hope of a rate cut in the near future.
The core PCE price index, which strips out food and energy prices, rose 0.3% in February, below the forecasts and very much in line with the Fed’s expectations. Although Fed Chair Jerome Powell is not in a rush to cut interest rates, the index results released Friday have boosted investor bets on a rate cut by the end of the second quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved down 0.6% to 39,561 on Monday morning. The S&P 500 lost 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq $NDAQ composite dipped 0.14%.
Tesla $TSLA’s stock fell early Monday after the company raised prices by $1,000 for all Model Y cars in the U.S. At the time of writing, Tesla stock was down 2.6% to $171. The EV maker will announce its delivery number tomorrow — on March 29, the company posted on X $TWTR that it had produced its six millionth car.
As usual, tech stocks and AI stocks are driving the market higher. AI stocks, such as Micron $MU Technology and Super Micro Computer, were up 6.4% and 3.7%, respectively, on Monday morning. In a similar vein, computer drive manufacturer Western Digital $WDC Corp was up 5%. Among tech stocks, Alphabet $GOOGL Class A and Alphabet Class C are among the best performers, with a 2.4% and 2.3% jump, respectively.
The crypto market, which has been experiencing bullish sentiment for the past few weeks, was down on Monday morning. The flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin dropped 2.4%, trading at $68,000. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, was down 3.4%, hovering around $3,400. Dogecoin, which saw highs in the past week, dipped 4.6% to $0.20.
Join 500,000+ readers who start their day with Quartz.
By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.