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Stocks rally, Treasuries and oil climb, Home prices fall for 7th month, Mortgage demand rises as rates move lower, Apple becomes a money lender, EU passes law for zero-emission cars by 2035, and more financial news.
US stock futures rallied on Wednesday, as treasuries, oil, and crypto also all moved higher, Yahoo Finance reported.
The S&P 500 advanced 40.90 points or +1.03%, while the Dow Jones industrial average soared 232.85 points or +0.72%, and the NASDAQ climbed 158.39 points or +1.35%.
Treasuries were up with the 2-year moving back into 4% territory. The benchmark US 10-Year Treasury was up +0.034 for a yield of 3.602%, while the 2-Year Treasury increased +0.049 for a yield of 4.111% as of 9:33 AM EDT.
In oil futures, WTI crude advanced +1.04% and traded at $73.96 a barrel, while the benchmark Brent crude was up +0.89% and trading at $79.35 a barrel as of 8:32 AM CDT.
In crypto, Bitcoin regained some steam, advancing +5.42% to $28,390.34. Ethereum climbed 4% to $1807, and BinanceCoin rose +1.97% to $316.71. A number of other tokens were elevated by the momentum, CoinDesk reported.
Reports on January’s home prices show a seventh-straight monthly decline as rising interest rates continue to put pressure on home prices in the housing market overall, Yahoo Finance explained. According to data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price index, prices fell 0.5% in January compared to December 2022. On a yearly basis, the index fell 3.8% in January, down from 5.6% in December.
Mortgage demand moved up 2.9% from a week earlier, as mortgage rates moved lower for a third-straight week, according to the weekly survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association, FOXBusiness reported. The average interest on a 30-year fixed-rate home loan fell to 6.5%, its lowest level in a month.
Apple launched a new money lending service for customers using Apple Pay with the introduction of Apple Pay Later, which will lend money to users directly through the wallet app on Apple devices, such as the iPhone, ARSTechnica reported. The current launch is limited, but Apple Pay users can now apply for loans that range from $50 to $1000. The borrowed money can only be spent with merchants that accept Apple Pay.
The European Union passed landmark legislation on Tuesday, agreeing that all new cars sold from 2035 forward must have zero emissions. The new law is expected to make it impossible to sell internal combustion vehicles in the EU starting in 2035, BBC reported. Germany won the only exemption, which allows for combustion vehicles that run on so-called e-fuels that are argued to be carbon neutral.
