Oil Prices, Starbucks CEO, Walmart Hiring: 3 Things to Watch By

By Sam Boughedda

– Stocks surged after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, which was widely expected, as it signaled more of the same at future meetings.

The Fed raised rates for the first time in more than three years and indicated seven rate hikes for this year to bring inflation under control. The Federal Open Market Committee raised its benchmark rate to a range of 0.25% to 0.5% from a 0%-to-0.25% range previously.

More rate increases were appropriate, the Fed said, despite uncertainty caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine and a newly resurgent strain of Covid-19. The U.S. is fighting inflation that is running the hottest in four decades.

Powell said the Fed would like wage gains to slow as he pledged to do what could be done to tame inflation.

The increase also abruptly changes the Fed’s pandemic-era stimulus as widespread lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus put a halt on economic activity. Markets have been anticipating rate hikes for months, but the ebb and flow of concern about them has injected a newfound volatility in stocks.

Retail sales for February showed a gain in spending from the prior month, though a touch less than expected. Oil continued to fall on demand worries after several cities in China shutdown amid a new surge of Covid cases.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

2. Oil in focus

Crude oil prices continued their fall on news out of China — the largest oil importer — with the country facing Covid outbreaks in Shenzhen, a city of around 17 million. This space will continue to be closely watched this week.

The city, which is a manufacturing hub, has been put into a stringent lockdown. U.S. oil stockpiles rose more than expected in the latest week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude oil inventories rose 4.345m barrels last week, compared with analyst's expectations for a draw of 1.375 million barrels.

2. Starbucks CEO 3.0

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)’s longtime former CEO Howard Schultz is coming back for a third time, to lead strategy as the coffee retailer faces a growing push by employees to unionize across the country.

Shares rose 5% on Wednesday and will continue to be in play on Thursday. Schultz is practically synonymous with the company he took over in 1987 and expanded internationally.

3. Walmart hiring spree

Retailer Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT)wants to hire 50,000 U.S. workers this spring for its stores, clubs, office parks and supply chain facilities. The current quarter ends in April. Shares dipped 0.3% on Wednesday after data showed retail sales rose in February but at a slightly slower pace than expected.

-- staff and Reuters contributed to this report

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