US open: Stocks mixed ahead of Fed meeting, Apple provides a drag

16th Sep 2024 14:16

(Sharecast News) - US stocks opened mixed on Monday on a quiet day for economic data, as investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision on Wednesday.

The Dow opened 0.8% higher, the S&P 500 gained 0.1% while the Nasdaq dropped 0.6% with heavyweight Apple leading the decline. The mixed open follows some impressive gains made last week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rising for five days straight.

"Any concerns over the possibility of a hard landing were cast aside last week, while a better-than-expected reading on headline CPI cemented the belief that the Federal Reserve will announce its first rate cut since March 2020 at the end of its two-day meeting this Wednesday," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Tech Nation.

"This will bring to an end the Fed's restrictive interest rate policy which saw them hold rates at their highest levels since January 2001, for nine successive monetary policy meetings."

In equity news, Apple shares fell 3% by reports that preorders for the iPhone 16 Pro were down on the first weekend of sales compared with the previous model.

Shares in Bausch & Lomb surged 15% amid speculation that the North American contact lens and eye care products supplier is exploring a potential sale. According to the Financial Times, Bausch & Lomb has hired advisers to test the waters with potential buyers as it looks to separate itself from its heavily indebted parent company, Bausch Health.

The only major economic data of the day was the NY Empire State manufacturing index, which jumped more than expected, with business activity in the area rising for the first time in nearly a year on the back of a climb in new orders and a big increase in shipments. The headline general business conditions index rose 16 points to 11.5, from -4.7 in August, beating the -3.9 reading predicted by economists.