U.S. stocks, bonds and the dollar saw small moves Wednesday, with traders focused on a parade of U.S. Federal Reserve speakers to see whether the central bank will continue to dampen the market’s dovish narrative.

The S&P 500 edged higher after a powerful rally that sent the gauge to its longest winning streak in two years and put it on the brink of the key 4,400 mark. Treasury 10-year yields are hovering around 4.6 per cent — well below the 16-year high of 5.02 per cent reached in October. The dollar was little changed. Oil fell as a forecast drop in US gasoline consumption added to a growing array of indicators suggesting the demand outlook is worsening.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday the central bank must be willing to think beyond the complex mathematical simulations it traditionally uses to forecast the economy. He didn’t comment on outlook for interest rates, economy. Powell will likely have more time to express his views on Thursday as he participates in panel on monetary policy challenges.

“It will be interesting to hear if he makes any comments about the recent move in longer-term interest rates,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “If his tone is a bit more hawkish than it was last week, it could be a catalyst for the kind of ‘breather’ in the markets we’re thinking could/should take place right now.”

New York Fed President John Williams and Vice Chair Philip Jefferson were also due to speak Wednesday. Fed Governor Lisa Cook said a worsening of geopolitical tensions, including those involving Russia, the Middle East and China, could trigger broad negative spillovers to global markets, including higher inflation. She did not comment on the outlook for monetary policy or interest rates in her prepared remarks.

Swap traders are pricing in almost no chance of an interest-rate increase in December, and predict the current level of the Fed’s benchmark rate — 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent — will mark the peak of the tightening cycle.

Even if central banks were of the view that rates could fall next year, it would be unrealistic to expect them to say so at this stage as it would confuse and undermine their message that rates must stay higher for longer, according to Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

“We are continuing to see sluggish trade in equity markets on Wednesday, with investors battling hawkish commentary from central banks against downbeat economic expectations and speculation around rate cuts next year,” Erlam noted.

TREASURY AUCTION

The upcoming auction of 10-year Treasuries is also drawing Wall Street’s attention as it will be a way to gauge the market’s appetite at this stage — especially after the recent bond rally.

“If we see yields begin to creep higher after the auction, that will act as a strengthening headwind for equity markets,” said Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded The Sevens Report newsletter. “A lot of the November rally in stocks has been based on a dovish shift in Fed policy expectations and if either the Treasury auction or commentary from Fed officials suggest markets have become too dovish, stocks are likely to give back some of the recent gains.”

Hoisington Investment Management Co.’s chief economist Lacy Hunt sees the recent retreat in Treasury yields as the start of a rally that will gain steam once the US economy careens into a hard landing.

For the bond market, “the cloud is breaking because the economy is heading into a hard landing,” Hunt said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “But it’s a process that will take time. The US economy has very serious difficulties” that will “be with us for a long time in the future.”

Corporate Highlights:

EBay Inc. issued a bleak revenue outlook for the busy holiday quarter, suggesting the company continues to struggle as it loses shoppers to larger rivals such as Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.

Robinhood Markets Inc. reported revenue that missed estimates as lower cryptocurrency volumes tumbled.

Rivian Automotive Inc. ended an exclusivity agreement to sell battery-electric vans to Amazon.com Inc. as the automaker raised its forecast for its overall production this year.

Rockstar Games, a division of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., plans to announce the next highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto game as early as this week, according to people familiar with its plans.

Roblox Corp., the video-game platform popular among teenagers, posted third-quarter bookings and revenue that far exceeded Wall Street’s projections.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., one of Israel’s largest companies, increased its revenue guidance for the second straight quarter, saying medicine production hasn’t been significantly affected by the war with Hamas.

Biogen Inc. lowered its full-year earnings guidance on acquisition-related costs and predicted a smaller dip in sales after quarterly revenue beat analysts’ expectations.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. posted a wider-than-expected loss in the third quarter, highlighting the headwinds from an ongoing Hollywood strike and weaker advertising revenue.

Key events this week:

• Bank of Japan issues October summary of opinions, Thursday
• BOE chief economist Huw Pill speaks on the economy, Thursday
• U.S. initial jobless claims, Thursday
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell participates in panel on monetary policy challenges, Thursday
• Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and his Richmond counterpart Tom Barkin speak, Thursday
• ECB President Christine Lagarde participates in fireside chat, Friday
• U.S. University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
• Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan and her Atlanta counterpart Raphael Bostic speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent as of 9:55 a.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3 per cent
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 per cent
• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7 per cent
• The MSCI World index rose 0.2 per cent

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro was little changed at $1.0690
• The British pound fell 0.1 per cent to $1.2283
• The Japanese yen fell 0.3 per cent to 150.84 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 0.5 per cent to $35,330.94
• Ether fell 0.3 per cent to $1,887.41

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.55 per cent
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 2.63 per cent
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.26 per cent

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6 per cent to $76.92 a barrel
• Spot gold fell 0.4 per cent to $1,961.69 an ounce