Stock market today: Stocks wobble as earnings roll in, Powell comments on inflation – Yahoo Finance

US stocks searched for direction on Tuesday as the Dow looked to snap a six-day losing streak.The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) lost steam following comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, who said it will likely take "longer than expected" for the central bank to be confident in its inflation fight.The index hovered above the flatline, last up around 0.2%, while both the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell about 0.1% after seesawing throughout the trading day.The moves come as bond yields remain at multi-month highs, coupled with rising tensions in the Middle East following Iran\'s weekend attacks on Israel.Yields jumped on the heels of Powell\'s comments with the 2-year note briefly touching above 5% — its highest level since November. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX), which touched 2024 highs on Monday, climbed about 5 basis points to trade around 4.68%.Meanwhile, earnings reports flooded in before the bell. UnitedHealth (UNH) shares added about 5% after the healthcare group beat quarterly profit estimates, even as it said it expects to take a $1.6 billion hit from a February cyberattack.Investors were also digesting more big bank results: Bank of America (BAC) reported that first quarter profit dropped 18% year over year as a key revenue source weakened, while Morgan Stanley (MS) stock rose as it topped expectations. Elsewhere, BNY Mellon (BK) posted a profit beat while Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported a revenue miss.Stocks booked sizable losses on Monday as hot retail sales data fueled expectations that interest rates will stay higher for longer this year. Consensus is now for no interest rate cut until September as the strength of the economy gives reason for the Federal Reserve to take its time, though some believe politics could push policymakers to act earlier.Live 13 updates \'Interest rate volatility\' could hit homebuilder forecasts this earnings season: UBS Uncertainty over when the Fed will raise interest

rates could hit homebuilders\' outlooks in the upcoming earnings season, according to UBS analysts. “We expect solid 1Q homebuilder financial results, with upbeat industry demand commentary from management teams, consistent with Lennar (LEN) and KB Home (KBH),” John Lovallo, UBS analyst, wrote in a note to clients Tuesday morning. But he noted that "interest rate volatility/uncertainty remains heightened, exacerbated by last week\'s CPI, which could result in conservative homebuilder gross margin outlooks." Builders have been offering incentives like mortgage rate buydowns to sell homes

in the high interest rate environment. Such deal sweeteners while effective hurt profit margins. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has been hovering around 7% in recent weeks, a far cry from the below-5% rates that many homeowners are locked into already. That has kept more buyers and sellers on the sidelines. The prospect of the Federal Reserve’s rate cut looks murkier following recent higher than expected inflation prints, a factor likely to pressure builder stocks near term. As a result, UBS has been “ more cautious than consensus on \'24/\'25 homebuilding gross margins, although Street forecasts seem to have moderated to some extent,” Lovallo noted. DR Horton (DHI), the largest builder by market cap, is expected to report earnings before the market opens on Thursday.Powell: Will take \'longer than expected\' to reach confidence on inflation Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday it will likely take "longer than expected" for the central bank to be confident in its inflation fight, citing a "lack of further progress" this year when it comes to bringing inflation back down to the Fed\'s 2% target. Powell, who noted the US economy over the past year has been "quite strong," pointed to hotter-than-expected inflation data over the past three months. “The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence and instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence," he said during a fireside chat with Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem in DC. The central bank leader suggested a higher-for-longer policy stance is here to stay, adding, "We can maintain the current level of restriction for as long as needed." Yields jumped on the heels of his comments with the 2-year note briefly touching above 5% — its highest level since November. The 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX), which touched 2024 highs on Monday, climbed about 6 basis points to trade around 4.69%. In equities, the benchmark S&P 500 reversed earlier gains while the Dow held positive. FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 7, 2024. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo (REUTERS / Reuters)It\'s time to start paying attention to the Vix Higher for longer interest rate angst, coupled with greater geopolitical risk