The US stock market has seen another day of a sell-off following Fed policymakers' hawkish comments. They once again confirmed their pledge to aggressive tightening, dispelling rumors about a possible shirt to a softer stance. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said that she expects the central bank to raise interest rates at least another percentage point and possibly more before it takes a breather to evaluate how the inflation fight is going. "Pausing is off the table right now. It's not even part of the discussion," she said. "Right now, the discussion is rightly around slowing the pace and ... focusing our attention really on what is the level of interest rates that will be sufficiently restrictive."
Daly noted that her most recent estimate puts the benchmark overnight lending rate around 5%. She added that the correct range is probably 4.75% to 5.25% of the current target range of 3.75%-4%. "I still think of that as a reasonable landing place for us before we hold, and the holding part is really important," she pinpointed. Over the year, the Fed has been raising the interest rate, which spills over into various consumer debt products. In December, the regulator is expected to hike the rate aggressively again. Traders assume that the central bank will raise the rate by 0.50 basis points.
Premarket trading
Gap stock rose by 5.5% at the end of the session and gained another 6% during the premarket after the company's earnings report topped Wall Street estimates. Gap also gave a rather cautious forecast for the holiday season.
Palo Alto Networks shares dropped by 1.5%. Before that, they grew by 6.5% after its revenue report beat analysts' expectations. In today's premarket, its stock advanced by 5.6%.
StoneCo stock jumped by 12% after its quarterly report exceeded the consensus forecast. However, its shares eventually declined by 5.0%. The company's earnings report was also slightly above analysts' forecasts. Its stock added 18.2% in the premarket.
Applied Materials shares gained 3.4% after the semiconductor maker's third-quarter revenue report exceeded analysts' estimates. The stock climbed by more than 4.0% in the premarket.
As for the technical outlook of the S&P 500, after a steep decline yesterday and a sharp rise today, it managed to stabilize. Bulls need to protect the support level of $3,942. As long as trading is carried out above this level, risk appetite will remain high. If so, the index may return to $3,968 and $4,003. A breakout of $4,038 will lead to an upward correction to the resistance level of $4,064. A more distant target will be the $4,091 level. In case of a downward movement, buyers need to protect $3,942. If bears push the index below $3,905, it could reach the support level of $3,861.
