U.S. stocks edge lower; Tesla falls in late trading

Stocks were little changed as traders assessed another batch of corporate earnings and remained focused on any signals about the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves. Bond yields climbed.

The S&P 500 halted a two-day advance. The Cboe Volatility Index hit its lowest since November 2021, declining to around 16. In late trading, Tesla Inc. dropped as its first-quarter profit missed estimates.

Morgan Stanley rose after its investment bank and giant wealth unit surpassed expectations even as profits fell. Western Alliance Bancorp climbed after beating earnings estimates and saying deposits recovered.

“If the bank earnings overall came in better than what was feared, that could give the Fed the green light to continue with their another 25 basis-point rate hike on May 3,” said Adam Phillips, managing director of portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors.

The U.S. economy stalled in recent weeks, with hiring and inflation slowing and access to credit narrowing, the Fed said in its Beige Book survey. That’s a step down from the tone of the previous report — published in early March just before Silicon Valley Bank’s failure — which showed an economy that remained resilient though with growing doubts about the rest of the year.

Treasury two-year rates, which are more sensitive to imminent policy moves, topped 4.2 per cent. The dollar rose. Bitcoin dropped below US$30,000.

Oil fell while gold declined below US$2,000 an ounce, under pressure from the strengthening dollar.

Key events this week:

China loan prime rates, Thursday
Eurozone consumer confidence, Thursday
U.S. initial jobless claims, existing home sales, index of leading economic indicators, Thursday
ECB issues report on March policy meeting, Thursday
Fed’s Christopher Waller speaks at cryptocurrency-focused event, Thursday
Fed’s Patrick Harker speaks on “monetary policy and housing”, Thursday
Fed’s Loretta Mester discusses the economic and policy outlook, Thursday
Fed’s Raphael Bostic discusses regional and national economic conditions, Thursday
Fed’s Michelle Bowman and Lorie Logan speak at event, Thursday
PMIs for Eurozone, Friday
Japan CPI, Friday
Fed’s Lisa Cook discusses economic research at an event, Friday

Some of the main moves in the market:

Stocks

The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4 p.m. New York time
The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 per cent
The MSCI World index fell 0.2 per cent

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 per cent
The euro fell 0.2 per cent to US$1.0955
The British pound rose 0.1 per cent to US$1.2439
The Japanese yen fell 0.5 per cent to 134.80 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 3.9 per cent to US$29,226.92
Ether fell 5.4 per cent to US$1,980.69

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 3.60 per cent
Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 2.52 per cent
Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 11 basis points to 3.86 per cent

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.2 per cent to US$79.09 a barrel
Gold futures fell 0.6 per cent to US$2,006.80 an ounce