Equity Market Summary – March 20 Trading Session ??

Equity Market Summary – March 20 Trading Session ??

U.S. benchmark indexes closed mostly lower on Thursday, as investor sentiment wavered following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged.

• Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3% to 17,691.6
• S&P 500 declined 0.2% to 5,662.9
• Dow Jones Industrial Average remained mostly flat at 41,953.3

? Biggest Losers

• Accenture (ACN) ↓ 7.3% – Missed sales and profit estimates, CEO cited government spending cuts as a headwind.
• Gartner (IT) ↓ 6.8% – Facing pressure from reduced government spending, leading UBS to lower its price target.
• Microchip Technology (MCHP) ↓ 6.5% – Announced a $1.35B convertible stock offering and Moody’s downgraded its debt rating.

? Top Gainers

• Darden Restaurants (DRI) ↑ 5.8% – Strong earnings and an expanded partnership with Uber Eats boosted investor confidence.
• Jabil (JBL) ↑ 3.1% – Raised full-year outlook after reporting better-than-expected earnings.
• Allstate (ALL) ↑ 2.6% – Reached a record high as catastrophe losses dropped significantly from the prior month.

Market Drivers ?

• Federal Reserve Decision: The Fed held rates steady for the second consecutive meeting, citing increased economic uncertainty.
• Trump’s Pressure on the Fed: Former President Donald Trump urged the central bank to cut rates, arguing that tariffs were easing their impact on the economy.
• EU Tariff Delay: The European Union postponed the first round of tariffs on U.S. goods to allow more time for negotiations.

Economy & Commodities ?

• U.S. Treasury Yields:

  • 10-year yield fell 1.7 basis points to 4.24%
  • 2-year yield declined 1.5 basis points to 3.96%

• Commodities:

  • WTI Crude Oil jumped 1.6% to $68.26/barrel ?️
  • Gold edged up 0.4% to $3,053.70/oz ?
  • Silver dipped 0.3% to $34.09/oz

Market Breadth & Volume

• Declining stocks outpaced advancing ones by 1.38-to-1 on the NYSE and 1.72-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
• 52-week highs/lows:
  • S&P 500: 12 new highs, 0 new lows
  • Nasdaq: 31 new highs, 102 new lows
• Trading volume: 13.06 billion shares traded vs. 20-day average of 16.28 billion.

? Markets remain cautious amid rate uncertainty and corporate earnings volatility.