Stock Market Today: Stocks power higher with Fed rate decision in focus
Five central bank rate decisions, as well as a key retail sales reading, will keep markets focused this week.
U.S. stocks powered higher in late Monday trading, while global oil prices jumped to a two-week high and Treasury yields steadied, as investors looked to crucial five-day stretch on Wall Street highlighted by a Federal Reserve
Updated at 3:22 PM EDT
Rally redux
Stocks are accelerating gains into the final hour of trading, with the S&P 500 up 53 point, or 0.94% and the Nasdaq rising 132 points, or 0.74%. The Dow was last marked 445 points higher.
"The 10% drop — the technical qualifier for a correction — over the last few weeks has been swift and painful, especially given that the selling pressure started from a fresh record high on February 19," said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial.
"However, although the economy has slowed this year as we expected, it has not stopped, and corporate America continues to deliver double-digit earnings growth," he added. "The solid fundamental footing supports our thesis that the economy is not entering a recession or a bear market."
The S&P 500 has returned an average of 10% per year since 1928 despite a median intra-year drawdown of -13%. There's no upside without occasional downside, no reward without risk. $SPX
Video: https://t.co/l583lVoU8W pic.twitter.com/l8idcdYDFc— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) March 16, 2025
Updated at 10:42 AM EDT
More Tesla slides
Tesla (TSLA) shares are back in the red, falling more than 4.6% in early trading following a price target cut from analysts at Mizuho.
Vijay Rakesh trimmed his 12-month objective on the EV maker by $85, taking it to $430 per share, while keeping his 'overweight' rating in place.
"Tesla's recent sales underperformance across key markets reflects a mix of geopolitical tensions, competitive pressures and soft demand for refreshed models," Rakesh and his team wrote. "While we have trimmed delivery estimates, we maintain our 'outperform' view, recognizing Tesla's leadership in the EV/AV space."
Related: Analyst resets Tesla stock price target tied to 'shocking' catalyst
Updated at 9:37 AM EDT
Muted open
The S&P 500 was marked 9 points, or 0.15% higher in the opening minutes of trading, with the Nasdaq rising 6 points, or 0.03%.
The Dow gained 102 points while the mid-cap Russell 2000 slipped 1.5 points, or 0.07%.
"Last Friday’s rally took some of the sting out of the S&P 500 entering correction territory, but the factors that have contributed to the downturn, especially tariffs and a less-aggressive consumer, haven’t disappeared," said Chris Larkin, managing director for trading an investing at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.
Today’s retail sales miss highlighted the slowdown in the consumer space. Most corrections don’t turn into bear markets, but most of them don’t end the same day they begin, either," he added. "Traders and investors shouldn’t assume too much about the market’s near-term path, other than it will likely contain more twists and turns."
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Mar. 17, 2025)$SPY flat⬜$QQQ flat⬜$DJI -0.14%
