US stocks open higher as Fed governor calls for rate cuts on Triple Witching Day
- S&P 500 rises 0.5% then pulls back to even on a volatile Friday session.
- About $6.5 billion in notional options trades expire on Friday.
- Accenture stock slips after quarterly bookings decline.
- Kroger stock gains over 7% as gross margin rises to multiyear highs.
- Fed's Waller says he could see rate cuts at the July meeting.
US stock indices rose half a percentage point in unison at the open on Friday before quickly losing much of their gains to trade mixed. Friday marks the second Triple Witching Day of the year, when about $6.5 billion in notional options tied to the indices and other assets expire, and these sessions usually allow for heavier volatility than usual.
Investors are excited by Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Christopher Waller telling CNBC broadcasters that he could see the central bank cutting interest rates as soon as July. While even Waller said he wasn't sure the other governors would go along with this, investors viewed his statements as evidence that the two cuts predicted in Wednesday's dot plot could arrive sooner than expected.
At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has gained 0.26%, while the NASDAQ's advance sank to a 0.1% loss and the S&P 500 is largely flat. A general unease hangs over the market as the Trump administration considers whether to join Israel in its war against Iran after news emerged that the US military is considering dropping a tactical nuke to destroy one of Iran's uranium enrichment facilities.
S&P 500 news
The largest grocery chain, Kroger (KR), reported fiscal Q1 results on Friday that missed Wall Street's revenue forecast but beat the adjusted earnings per share (EPS) consensus. Identical sales excluding fuel rose 3.2% YoY, the fifth straight quarterly advance, and gross margin rose to a multiyear high of 23%. Kroger stock surged over 7% on the news.
Meanwhile, Accenture (ACN) stock dropped over 6% after its fiscal Q3 results showed bookings declining on an annual basis. The consulting company has been dealing with a drop-off in contracts from the federal government as the Trump administration seeks to restrain some outsourcing work.
Home Depot (HD) stock is slightly higher after The Wall Street Journal reported that it is interested in acquiring building materials distributor GMS (GMS). QXO (QXO) offered $95.20 per share on Wednesday, or about $5 billion, to buy out GMS.
CarMax (KMX) stock surged over 5% after beating the Wall Street consensus for its fiscal first quarter. Despite average prices falling 1.5%, the volume of used cars sold rose 9%.
S&P 500 chart
The S&P 500 has been drifting sideways over the past two weeks but still trades just below the resistance band from December through February. The index is yet to break into the band that stretches from 6,090 through the February 19 high at 6,147.
The Fibo Retracement shows the index leveling off after reaching the 100% placeholder from the rally following the April 7 nadir. Some analysts expect the index to reach new all-time highs this year, but many call this the most-hated rally they've seen, as most institutions want to wait for any fallout from the Trump administration's tariff policies.
Support sits near 5,800, where the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and its 200-day counterpart are coalescing.
S&P 500 daily chart
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Author
Clay Webster
FXStreet
Clay Webster grew up in the US outside Buffalo, New York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He began investing after college following the 2008 financial crisis.
