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    Wall Street Holds Steady As Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Notches Record Highs: What's Driving Markets Thursday?

    Benzinga·03/20/2025 17:11:01
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    U.S. stocks traded sideways on Thursday as investors digested Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks on inflation and tariffs following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday.

    Powell downplayed concerns that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump could reignite inflation, calling their impact "transitory." Yet, the Fed's latest projections signaled slower economic growth, rising unemployment and hotter inflation.

    By midday in New York, major indexes were little changed, with financial stocks leading modest gains.

    Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK) extended its rally to fresh record highs, on track for a sixth consecutive positive session. The stock's year-to-date outperformance over the S&P 500 has widened to 20 percentage points.

    In commodities, gold edged lower as the U.S. dollar strengthened, while Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) slid 2.8%, dipping below $85,000. Oil prices jumped 1.5% to $67 per barrel amid escalating geopolitical tensions, as Israel launched a new ground operation in Gaza, breaking a two-month ceasefire.

    Thursday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

    Major Indices Price 1-day %chg
    Dow Jones 42,081.53 0.3%
    S&P 500 5,674.16 0.0%
    Russell 2000 2,080.75 0.0%
    Nasdaq 100 19,711.27 -0.1%
    Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET

    According to Benzinga Pro data:

    • The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) inched 0.1% down to $566.56.
    • The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose 0.2% to $421.00.
    • The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) slipped 0.2% to $479.28.
    • The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) eased 0.2% to $206.03
    • The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) outperformed, up 0.6%; the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) lagged, down 0.6%.

    Thursday’s Stock Movers

    • Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE:DRI) rose 5.4% in reaction to stronger-than-expected earnings.
    • Other stocks reacting to corporate earnings were Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL), up 5.2%, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN), down 7.2%, PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD), up 2%, Five Below Inc. (NYSE:FIVE), up 7%, Facset Research Systems (NYSE:FDS).
    • Companies slated to report their earnings after the close include Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX), Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN).

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    Photo: Shutterstock