Wall Street Today | S&P 500 Teases Journalists, Fed Speak Begs Caution

Corporate earnings growth is holding up despite a period of sharply rising interest rates. According to Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager, it has been the primary reason behind the latest equity rally.

“Investors are taking heart in well-received earnings reports and are settling into Powell’s message, which has moved away from ‘higher-for-longer’ rates to ‘higher-for-not-that-much-longer’ rates,” Buchanan told MarketWatch.

Dec Mullarkey, managing director at SLC Management, said the markets are “less alarmed” by the NYCB jitters, as the rest of the regional banks have already reported “sensible numbers,” and their earnings reports don’t reflect accelerating weakness in the commercial real estate sector.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve officials made another round of appearances. Four Federal Reserve Officials spoke Wednesday, and all said the same thing. Interest rates would come down slowly this year, and investors might not see cuts until after March.

Fed Governor Adriana Kugler said it would be “appropriate” to lower U.S. interest rates if inflation continues to slow and that it is “critical” that inflation returns to the central bank’s target of 2%. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin told MarketWatch that it’s a good idea for the Fed to take its time with rate cuts. Fed chief Neel Kashkari and Fed President Susan Collins were similarly non-committal.

The thinnest veneer of actual commentary that made up Wednesday's Fed-Speak came two days after Jerome Powell took to 60 Minutes to hammer home the 'March cuts unlikely mantra.'

Yields on U.S. government debt settled nearly flat on Wednesday afternoon after a $42 billion auction of 10-year notes drew solid demand.

Oil futures pared some of their early gains on Wednesday, after official U.S. data revealed a weekly climb of more than 5 million barrels in domestic crude inventories, declines in gasoline and distillate stockpiles, and a rise back to record U.S. oil production.

Developments tied to a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have also helped to ease concerns over risks to oil supplies in the region, limiting gains for oil prices, analysts said.

March gasoline added 1.2% to $2.2445 a gallon, while March heating oil climbed 0.8% to $2.7652 a gallon. Natural gas for March delivery NGH24 traded at $1.965 per million British thermal units, down 2.2%, on track for the first settlement below $2 since late March.

ESPN, Fox Corp., and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up to create a supersize sports-streaming service that will offer content from all major leagues, a deal that will reshape the sports and media landscape.