Hourly Market Review - Mar 14, 2024 13 PM

On Thursday, U.S. stocks experienced declines while Treasury yields reached their highest in over two weeks, driven by economic indicators suggesting persistent inflation and decreased consumer spending. The S&P 500 dropped by 0.23%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.18%, and the Nasdaq Composite also by 0.18%. Eight out of eleven S&P sectors were down, with Real Estate leading the losses, while Energy, Communication Services, and Technology sectors saw gains.

Economic data released before the market opened included the producer price index (PPI) for February, which rose by 0.6% month-over-month, surpassing the expected 0.3% and the previous month's 0.3%. The core PPI increased by 0.3%, slightly above the anticipated 0.2%. This followed a consumer price index (CPI) report that also exceeded expectations.

Retail sales in February increased by 0.6% to $700.7 billion, below the forecasted 0.8% but an improvement over January's decline of 1.1%. Core retail sales, excluding automobiles, gas, building materials, and food services, rose by 0.3%, less than the expected 0.5%.

These economic figures indicate persistent inflation and potential weaknesses in consumer spending, complicating the Federal Reserve's decision-making regarding interest rates. Market expectations for a rate cut in the Fed's June meeting were slightly reduced.

Movers of the hour:

Solidion Technology is up 47.21% at $1.84.  

Turtle Beach is up 25.93% at $13.89.  

WiMi Hologram Cloud is up 24.06% at $1.36.  

Beamr Imaging is up 22.16% at $8.71.  

Futurefuel is up 21.60% at $6.92.