Here's What's Happening in Markets: April 29

Markets are in the green during midday trading as tech stocks Tesla Inc. and Apple Inc. rose. Despite disappointing investors during quarterly earnings, Tesla soared over 14% by noon on Monday after the car maker announced it passed a key hurdle on the path to receiving approval for self-driving cars in China. Tesla, one of the top 10 stocks in the S&P 500 by weight, pushed the index higher. 

SPY, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust rose by more than a quarter of a percentage point.

Tech investors are also keeping an eye on Apple, which is set to report earnings on Thursday after the bell. Apple shares rose by just over 2% after analysts upgraded the stock.

MAGS, the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF, boosted by the performance of Tesla, a Magnificent Seven stock, rose nearly 2% heading toward midafternoon. QQQ, the Invesco QQQ Trust which tracks the tech-heavy Nasdaq, was also in the green with a nearly 2% gain. 

DIA, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust also jumped Monday, rising 0.3%

While tech stocks provided investors reasons to cheer Monday, this trading week will be a busy one.

The Federal Reserve is set to kick off its two-day policy meeting on interest rates on Tuesday. While investors are overwhelmingly expecting that the Fed will hold rates steady when it makes its rate decision Wednesday, traders will pay close attention to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech, hoping for any clues about the future path of rate cuts.

Investors and the U.S. economy alike have been walloped by a "higher for longer" rate environment that has kept bond ETFs on a rollercoaster ride and high-growth stocks under pressure. Markets started 2024 expecting six rate cuts for the year; that expectation was quickly cut in half.

Now, markets aren't expecting a rate cut until September, according to the CME Fed Watch Tool. 

TLT, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF rose more than half of a percentage point Monday as bond yields fell, pushing Treasury prices upwards. Other bond ETFs, BND, the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF and AGG, the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF which track at the entire bond market, also rose just over a quarter percentage point midday. 

TLT vs BND Performance Chart

Source: etf.com

Bond ETFs have struggled this year as investors had their rate cut hopes torpedoed by the Fed, which is trying to bring inflation to in line with its stated 2% goal. Currently, the personal consumption expenditures index (PCE), the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, sits at 2.7%.

Also on tap this week is the April jobs report. Unemployment is set to remain steady at 3.8%, according to economists polled by Dow Jones. The strength of the labor market is often used by the Fed as a proxy for the strength of the U.S economy, which has so far held resilient in the face of higher for longer interest rates.