Dow snaps 8-week losing streak amid sign inflation may be slowing

Benzinga
·2 min read

The Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped an eight-week losing streak ahead of a three-day weekend on Wall Street.

On Friday, stocks traded higher after the U.S. Commerce Department reported the core personal consumption expenditures price index rose 4.9% year-over-year in April, down from 5.2% in March. The PCE is the preferred inflation measure of the Federal Reserve, and April's decline may be a sign that inflation has finally peaked.

On Wednesday, the latest meeting minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee indicated the Fed is prepared to continue with multiple additional 0.5% interest rate hikes to curb inflation. FOMC members indicated they are optimistic aggressive monetary policy actions will bring down inflation levels but expressed concern about the risks tighter policy could pose to financial stability.

Snapchat parent company Snap on Monday issued a warning to investors that the company will not hit its revenue and earnings targets for the second quarter. Snap shares dropped 43% on Tuesday in response to the news.
Snapchat parent company Snap on Monday issued a warning to investors that the company will not hit its revenue and earnings targets for the second quarter. Snap shares dropped 43% on Tuesday in response to the news.

On Monday, Snapchat parent company Snap issued a warning to investors that the company will not hit its revenue and earnings targets for the second quarter. In an SEC filing, the company said the macroeconomic climate has "deteriorated further and faster than anticipated," and Snap shares dropped 43% on Tuesday in response to the news.

On Thursday, Broadcom announced a $61 billion buyout of Vmware. Vmware shareholders will receive either $142.50 in cash or 0.252 shares of Broadcom for each Vmware share they own, and Broadcom said it expects the deal to close by the end of its fiscal 2023.

Magic of Macy's

Shares of department store Macy's gained more than 28% last week as investors cheered the company's first-quarter sales beat and full-year profit forecast.

Earnings reports from Salesforce, H-P and others

In the week ahead, investors will get more quarterly earnings reports from Salesforce.com on Tuesday, Hewlett Packard and Chewy on Wednesday and CrowdStrike on Thursday.

At least 281 companies in the S&P 500 have mentioned "Ukraine" on their first-quarter earnings calls, according to FactSet.

Economic numbers

Following encouraging PCE data, Wall Street will get key economic updates on Friday when Eurostat releases its April Eurozone Retail Sales report and the U.S. Labor Department releases its May jobs report.

Benzinga is a financial news and data company headquartered in Detroit.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dow snaps 8-week losing streak amid signs that inflation may be slowing