[NYSE Market Briefing] Strong Mixed Close on Moderate FOMC Minutes... S&P500 Hits Another All-Time High

The three major New York stock indices closed with strong mixed results. With no additional tariff measures from Washington, the market restrained large movements due to concerns about high levels. While hawkish stance was confirmed in January's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes, it didn't deviate from expectations, and the market reaction remained calm as the possibility of adjusting quantitative tightening pace was discussed.

On the 19th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 44,627.59 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), up 71.25 points (0.16%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index finished at 6,144.15, up 14.57 points (0.24%), and the Nasdaq Composite closed at 20,056.25, up 14.99 points (0.07%).

The S&P500 set another record high today, marking the second consecutive day of record highs.

U.S. President Donald Trump made no particular mention of tariff policies today.

While Trump announced earlier this week that he would impose at least 25% tariffs on automobiles, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals, he set the implementation date for April 2nd, leaving room for negotiation.

As a result, the stock market maintained a mixed pattern within a steady range amid concerns about high levels.

However, the New York Times (NYT) reported today that Trump is showing interest in establishing a new trade agreement with China. The White House had no separate response to this. After the January FOMC minutes were released in the afternoon, major stock indices reduced their losses or turned to gains.

As expected by the market, while FOMC members showed a hawkish atmosphere regarding monetary policy, they also mentioned the need to adjust the pace of quantitative tightening, which is considered accommodative monetary policy material.

According to the minutes, most members deemed it "appropriate to carefully consider further adjustments to the monetary policy stance given current high uncertainty" and judged that "additional evidence of disinflation is needed before considering adjustments to the federal funds rate target range."

Several members expressed concern that "potential changes in future trade policies could contribute to renewed inflationary pressures" and noted that "global economic conditions remain uncertain and could affect the U.S. economy."

Stifel economist Lindsay Piegza analyzed that "in extreme scenarios where trade disputes escalate into continuous 'tit for tat,' annual inflation could rise by several percentage points."

Hawkish comments from major Federal Reserve officials continued today.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said, "I don't expect inflation to come down smoothly" and added, "What I'm curious about now is whether January's Consumer Price Index (CPI) was just a bump in the path of price deceleration or if it's a new trend."

Bostic mentioned that "confidence in this year's economic outlook has weakened" and expressed relief about "waiting to see how the economy unfolds."

By sector, materials fell over 1% while financials showed slight weakness. All other sectors showed strength, with healthcare rising over 1%.

The 'Magnificent Seven' mega-tech companies showed mixed results.

Apple, which announced the new iPhone 16e, and Alphabet remained slightly higher, while Microsoft (MS) and Tesla showed gains of over 1%. Meanwhile, NVIDIA and Amazon were slightly lower.

Meta Platforms fell more than 1% today after its 20-day consecutive rise ended with yesterday's decline.

Palantir, the darling of the AI data industry, saw its stock price plunge over 10% today. This followed reports that the Trump administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed senior Pentagon officials to develop plans to cut defense forecasts by 8% over the next five years.

Nikola, the hydrogen-electric truck manufacturer that debuted on the NYSE in 2020 aspiring to be the next Tesla, saw its stock fall 39% after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to management difficulties.

U.S. semiconductor company Intel's stock fell over 6%. This is interpreted as fatigue after recent sharp rises due to expectations of potential split acquisition by TSMC and Broadcom.

Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman raised Walmart's price target to $153 per share, about 47% higher than the current stock price.

Walmart is scheduled to announce its fourth-quarter results on the 20th.

Shin Min-kyung, Hankyung.com reporter radio@hankyung.com