F - Nasdaq S&P 500 Dow edge lower as investors look ahead to Fed Apple earnings

2023-05-01 16:02:56 ET

Ahead of crucial news due out later in the week, Wall Street largely moved sideways on Monday. Investors held their fire with key earnings reports and the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision set to be announced in the coming days.

The Nasdaq Composite ( COMP.IND ) closed -0.1% , the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) finished fractionally lower and the Dow ( DJI ) ended -0.1% .

First Republic Bank ( FRC ) provided the day's biggest headlines, with U.S. regulators facilitating a deal for JPMorgan ( JPM ) to take over the troubled regional bank.

Otherwise, investors looked ahead to key news likely to drive trading later in the week. This includes the Federal Reserve, which is scheduled to announce its latest interest rate decision on Wednesday.

The central bank is widely expected to raise rates another 25 basis points. Market watchers will keep a keen eye on the Fed's commentary as well, looking for signs about what it plans to do with rates in the near term.

Meanwhile, more updates are expected from major corporate players this week. Apple ( AAPL ) headlines the list, with financial figures also due out from Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ), Qualcomm ( QCOM ), Ford ( F ) and Starbucks ( SBUX ).

"Last week, the S&P-500 ( SPX ) managed to close right above the 4,100 to 4,150 resistance zone, and the fact that we are holding above those levels shows the market's resilience," market expert Ahan Vashi told Seeking Alpha. "That said, with the Fed's FOMC outcome announcement on Wednesday and Apple's ( AAPL ) report on Thursday, we will likely get more market swings and higher volatility."

Vashi added: "Investors would be wise to err on the side of caution and maintain a defensive portfolio positioning until we get a clear breakout above February highs."

Meanwhile, the bond market was dominated by selling, sending yields higher. The 10-year yield ( US10Y ) climbed 15 basis points to 3.60% and the 2-year yield ( US2Y ) rose 8 basis points to 4.15%.

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