This quarter has been a good one for the stock market, with record highs and the S&P 500 climbing 10%.

All three major indices closed up at the end of trading on Wednesday, but they are expected to open low as trading begins for Thursday. Many investors are expected to sell their positions ahead of the Easter weekend to keep themselves safe from inflation effects. As inflation increased in February and March, traders were more wary and were less likely to make large, risky investments.

We may continue to see that level of trepidation in the market as the quarter continues, until new inflation data shows positive signs of change. S&P 500 has seen a two quarter gain, which is really incredible for an index that has not seen that kind of positive change since 2020, however, it is mostly tech and AI-related stocks that are doing very well.

Many of the others are moving erratically or struggling to make gains even with positive earnings reports coming out. Even in the growing AI market, there is enough competition so that some of the players are suffering as they make room for the biggest companies and the ones making the most impact.  

Stock Movements to Watch

Nvidia (NVDA) continues to dominate here, at $899 a share, though it has fallen a bit in the last few days. Other tech companies are getting into the AI game, with Alphabet (GOOGL) adding new AI functionality to its software, and Apple (AAPL) looking into new AI integration. Both of those stocks are up today and expected to do well for the near future.

The Dow Jones closed on a positive note, up 1.22% since the previous day. The Nasdaq Composite was up as well, with a gain of 0.51%. We anticipate that these gains will be short lived and that many traders will move cautiously into the weekend by dumping shares and playing it careful with rising inflation.