Stocks have been fairly quiet ahead of the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's last rate setting meeting. A soft inflation reading gives some added credence to the Fed's new wait-and-see stance on rates while the ECB is also signalling that it has no plans to raise interest rates any time soon.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Consumer Prices Index rose 0.4% in March compared to the prior month, with the core rate edging up 0.1%, both of which matched expectations. On a year-over-year basis, the headline CPI growth rate accelerated to 1.9%. The minutes from the Fed's March 19-20 meeting are scheduled to be released at 2 pm ET.
In Europe, the ECB kept its key interest rates unchanged and said it expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels "at least through the end of 2019," or longer if needed. The central bank also reiterated that it intends to continue reinvesting, in full, the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the asset purchase program for an extended period of time past the date when it starts raising rates.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Delta (DAL) have risen 1% after the airline operator reported better than expected results for the first quarter and raised its FY19 revenue growth view. "Demand for Delta's product has never been stronger, as evidenced by our 7.5% top line growth in the March quarter...With our customer-focused commercial initiatives delivering strong customer loyalty and top-line momentum, we now expect full-year revenue growth of five to seven percent, an increase from our prior guidance," said Glen Hauenstein, Delta's president.
Shares of Tesla (TSLA) are on the rise after Reuters reported that a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is planning to introduce legislation on Wednesday to expand the EV tax credit by 400,000 vehicles per manufacturer. The existing $7,500 EV tax credit, which allows tax payers to deduct part of the cost of buying an electric vehicle, phases out over 15 months once an automaker hits 200,000 cumulative EV sales. General Motors (GM) saw its tax credit cut to $3,750 on April 1, while Tesla's tax credit fell to $3,750 on January 1 and will end entirely at year's end.
The CEOs of several of the nation's largest banks headed to Capitol Hill to be questioned by members of the House Financial Services Committee, including Citigroup's (C) Michael Corbat, JPMorgan's (JPM) Jamie Dimon, Morgan Stanley's (MS) James Gorman, Bank of America's (BAC) Brian Moynihan, State Street's (STT) Ronald O'Hanley, Bank of New York Mellon's (BK) Charlie Scharf and Goldman Sachs' (GS) David Solomon.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Global Brass and Copper (BRSS), which surged 25% after it agreed to be acquired by Wieland-Werke for $44 per share in cash. Also higher was Levi Strauss & Co. (LEVI), which gained 7.5% after reporting quarterly results. for the first time since returning to the public market.
Among the notable losers was Lyft (LYFT), which slid 7% after Reuters reported that Uber (UBER) is expected to make its registration for an IPO offering public this Thursday, seeking to sell about $10B in common stock at a valuation of $90B-$100B. Also lower was WD-40 (WDFC), which fell 4% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 9.41, or 0.04%, to 26,141.17 , the Nasdaq was up 38.08, or 0.48%, to 7,947.35 , and the S&P 500 was up 6.94, or 0.24%, to 2,885.14.
