By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street stocks were mixed and U.S. Treasury yields dipped on Tuesday amid the doldrums ahead of a holiday weekend and a lack of market catalysts to fuel conviction one way or the other.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies climbed amid signs that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may approve a spot ether exchange-traded fund.
The Dow was in the lead, with the S&P 500 nominally higher. Semiconductors held the tech-heavy Nasdaq near flat ahead of chip megacap Nvidia Corp’s earnings expected after the bell on Wednesday.
“We are in a void of major macroeconomic data points,” said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Billings, Montana. “Nvidia as the third-largest company in the (S&P 500) yet to report, and expectations are very high for the conclusion of first quarter earnings season.”
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Tuesday calmed fears of a rate hike, saying recent economic data indicate the Fed’s restrictive policy is working as directed.
Atlanta Fed Chair Raphael Bostic said the central bank needs to exercise caution ahead of its first rate cut to provoke pent-up spending and send inflation “bouncing around.”
Minutes from the Federal Open Markets Committee’s (FOMC) most recent monetary policy are due to be released on Wednesday, and they will be parsed for clues regarding timing and extent of policy easing this year.
“Monetary policy is clearly approaching an inflection point but the timing remains in question,” Northey added. “Investors will continue to parse all Fed communications for some indication as to when that first cut will arrive.”
Markets currently factor in about 41 basis points of Fed rate reductions this year, with a quarter-point cut fully priced in for November.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39.89 points, or 0.1%, to 39,846.66, the S&P 500 gained 4.29 points, or 0.08%, to 5,312.42 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.22 points, or 0.02%, to 16,791.65.
European shares dipped after remarks from Fed officials tempered optimism over potential rate cuts this year.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.29% and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.12%.
Emerging market stocks lost 0.74%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.88% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.31%.
U.S. Treasury yields dipped as investors awaited the Fed minutes, eager for any clues regarding the timing of rate cuts.
Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 6/32 in price to yield 4.4139%, from 4.437% late on Friday.
The 30-year bond last rose 9/32 in price to yield 4.5558%, from 4.573% late on Friday.
The dollar was last essentially unchanged, holding its ground against a basket of world currencies, with little on the U.S. economic calendar to attract investor focus, aside from a slew of Fed speakers.
The Securities Exchange Commission asked exchanges to fine-tune their applications to list spot ether ETFs, signaling that the agency might be poised to approve the filings.
Ethereum was last up 7.7%, while bitcoin gained 1.3%.
The dollar index rose 0.02%, with the euro up 0.03% to $1.0858.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.22% versus the greenback at 155.93 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.2721, up 0.13% on the day.
Oil prices dipped, extending losses as the prospect of lingering inflation and “higher for longer” interest rates raised concerns over dampening demand.
U.S. crude fell 0.75% to $79.20 per barrel and Brent was last at $83.21, down 0.6% on the day.
Gold prices stabilized near their all-time high as Fed policy makers stuck to their cautious tone.
Spot gold added 0.2% to $2,429.66 an ounce.
(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Kevin Buckland and Lawrence White in London; Editing by Will Dunham)
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