Wall Street Close: Benchmarks print mild losses despite S&P 500 refreshed record top

Wall Street settled with minor losses even as S&P 500 refreshed record top.

Fed maintains status quo, Powell refrains talking tapering.

Apple, Facebook beat revenue forecasts, Amazon eyed.

US President Biden’s “Joint Congress” speech will offer immediate direction, US GDP should be followed afterward.

US equity traders stayed unimpressed by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s assurance of prolonged easy money policies on Wednesday. The Wall Street benchmarks also end the key day with small losses, despite S&P 500’s initial run-up to refresh record top, as Fed sounds cautiously optimistic over economic catalysts like unemployment and inflation.

Not only the Fed-led drama but upbeat earnings from the tech giants like Apple and Facebook also couldn’t impress the US markets. The reason could be traced to the American policymakers’ dislike for President Joe Biden’s tax hike ahead of the first speech to the joint Congress, up for publishing around 01:00 AM GMT.

Amid these plays, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI30) turned out as the biggest loser of the day, down 0.48% or 164.55 points to 33,820.38. Nasdaq came in second with 0.28% losses on a day, or 39.19 points down to 14,051.03. Further, S&P 500 Futures closed with 0.08% daily downside following its brief run-up to the all-time high of 4,201.53.

Also portraying the market’s lack of interest could be the US 10-year Treasury yield that drop one basis point (bps) to 1.61%. However, the US dollar index (DXY) refreshed a two-month low with a heavy downside after the Fed.

Looking forward, investors will keep their eyes on US President Biden’s speech to confirm the details of the $4.0 trillion stimulus and how the Democratic Party member manages to stay tough China and other geopolitical issues.

Read: In first speech to Congress, US Pres. Biden to push $4 trillion spending plans – Reuters

Other than the US catalysts, the coronavirus (COVID-19) and vaccine updates, as well as earnings from Amazon, will be the key to watch on Thursday. On the economic calendar, the first reading of US Q1 GDP shouldn’t be missed.

Read: US Q1 GDP Preview: Eyes on inflation and FOMC as economic recovery gathers steam