Dow Jones, Nasdaq, S&P 500 weekly preview: Markets await PCE data

investing.com:

Last week, the three major US stock indices witnessed a largely positive performance. Specifically, the S&P 500 saw a minor decrease of 0.14%, closing at 5,234.18, while the Nasdaq Composite edged higher by 0.16%, finishing at 16,428.82, marking another record close.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a slight decline, dropping 305.47 points or 0.77%, to settle at 39,475.90, despite achieving its strongest week of the year following consecutive record highs.

Throughout the week, all three major stock indexes recorded significant gains. The S&P 500 advanced approximately 2.3%, with the Dow following closely, with an increase of nearly 2%, marking its most successful week since December. Leading the trio, the Nasdaq Composite surged by almost 2.9% as the week's standout performer.

In terms of economic development, the most important event was the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting, where the central bank kept the target range for the influential rate in the range of 5.25%-5.5%.

The Fed officials said they still expect to begin cutting rates by the end of 2024, however, the bank plans to proceed with those plans cautiously after raising borrowing costs to the highest levels in over two decades.

«We want to be careful and fortunately with the economy growing, the labor market strong and inflation coming down, we can be» Fed chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference after the Fed's meeting.

Looking forward, this week is set to bring another batch of important economic data, particularly the durable goods report on Tuesday and the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index print on Friday.

At the same time, markets will also be keenly awaiting the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report for