Stocks mixed after Fed comments

US stocks It is trading mixed on Thursday after the details from last month Federal Reserve The meeting showed that the central bank intends to be serious about fighting economic inflation.

The Dow Jones slipped 95 points to 3,4401.53 while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.08% and 0.23%, respectively.

Central Bank policy makers have indicated that rising inflation and an incredibly tight labor market may warrant a half-point rate hike in future meetings. The minutes also confirmed Fed Governor Lyle Brainard’s statement on Tuesday that the central bank may begin reducing the balance sheet as early as May.

Get your FOX business on the go by clicking here

The Fed’s comments added to investor concerns about the war in Ukraine, Corona virus outbreak In China, persistent high inflation. After the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes, the 10-year Treasury yield rose above 2.6%.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid/Reuters Photo)

The Russian invasion of Ukraine added to those fears, driving up energy and commodity prices. Oil is trading at nearly $100 a barrel.

Russia invades Ukraine: live updates

On the economic front, 166 thousand Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, well below analysts’ expectations of 200 thousand. Continuing claims, which track the total number of unemployed workers collecting benefits, rose more than expected to 1.523 million, up from a revised 1.506 million.

Fed signals ‘appropriate’ half-point rate hike in future meetings

In stocks, HP Inc is up 16% after that Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway has disclosed that it has purchased approximately 121 million shares of the company’s stock, or approximately 11.4% of the stock.

Conagra Brands was little changed after giving profit guidance below Wall Street expectations. Net income for the company’s third fiscal quarter was $218.4 million, or 45 cents a share, down from $281.4 million, or 58 cents a share, last year. Adjusted earnings per share were 58 cents and revenue was $2.914 billion.

“We experienced higher-than-expected cost pressures as the third quarter progressed and expect those pressures to continue into the fourth quarter, particularly in some of the frozen, chilled and snack business,” Conagra Brands CEO Sean Connolly said in a statement. “In response, we have taken steps to implement additional inflation-driven pricing measures. We will begin to see the benefits of these measures in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023.”

For the fourth quarter, Conagra expects net sales growth of 7% and adjusted earnings per share of 64 cents. For the full year, it expects net sales growth of 4% and adjusted earnings per share of $2.35.

Levi Strauss’ stock was down 3% despite the apparel maker reporting an adjusted quarterly profit of 46 cents per share, beating Wall Street expectations.

Rite Aid stock plunged 21% after Deutsche Bank cut the rating from “hold” to “sell”. Analyst George Hill lowered the bank’s target price for the retail pharmacy chain from $16 to $1. Hill emphasized that the company would need to generate approximately $400 million to $450 million in annual adjusted EBITDA to continue as an operating company.

“At a figure below $400 million, equity is arguably worthless because the company is not in a position to generate real returns for shareholders,” Hill wrote in a note to clients. “Unfortunately, we believe that COVID has precipitated the decline of the retail pharmacy sector and we see the potential for a dramatic negative inflection point for [Rite Aid] stocks where this initial outlook for F2023 appears unattainable.”

Rent the Runway fell 2% after the fashion rental company said it would increase prices on its popular eight-item plan to $144 a month from $134 to $235 from $195 a month for its 16-item plan due to inflation.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.7%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.2% and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 1.4%.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.