Dow jumped 250, advancers over decliners 4-3 & NAZ soared 366.  The MLP index crawled higher in the 272s & the REIT index slid back to the 378s.  Junk bond funds were mixed & Treasuries saw a little buying, taking yields lower (more below).  Oil inched up to the 78s & gold was off 1 to 2033.

AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)

Existing home sales rose last month, but higher mortgage rates now are hurting

European Central Bank posts first annual loss in two decades

Treasury yields were mixed as investors considered the path ahead for interest rates after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting indicated caution about cutting rates too soon.  The yield on the 10-year Treasury was hovering around flat at 4.323% & the 2-year Treasury yield was last up by 5 basis points at 4.703%.  Yields & prices have an inverted relationship & 1 basis point equals 0.01%.  Minutes from the Federal Reserve's Jan meeting suggested policymakers would be careful & not rush to cut rates.  Fed officials were concerned about the “risks of moving too quickly” & were still looking to be more confident in inflation easing before cutting rates.  “Participants generally noted that they did not expect it would be appropriate to reduce the target range for the federal funds rate until they had gained greater confidence that inflation was moving sustainably toward 2 percent,” the minutes stated.  However, the minutes also suggested that policymakers were not expecting rates to be hiked any further.  The latest inflation insights suggested to many market participants that pressures from higher prices could be stickier than hoped, with the Jan consumer price index & producer price index coming in higher than expected.  Investors were initially hoping for rate cuts as soon as Mar but are now expecting the first one to take place in Jun.

2-year Treasury yield rises as investors fret over interest rate outlook

Dow Jones Industrials