NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Barcelona was fined 25,000 euros ($26,600) by UEFA on Thursday for Nazi salutes and monkey gestures by fans at a Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain last week.
UEFA said the proven charge of “racist behavior” followed images circulating of misconduct by some fans at Parc des Princes on April 10.
UEFA also deferred a one-game ban on selling tickets to Barcelona fans for an away game in the Champions League next season for a probationary period of one year.
Barcelona also was ordered to compensate PSG for damage to seats by fans and pay additional fines totaling 7,000 euros ($7,500).
Barcelona won 3-2 in Paris in the first leg of the quarterfinals but was eliminated Tuesday after losing 4-1 in the home leg.
World soccer body FIFA is set to launch a new drive against racism next month at its annual congress meeting, being held in Bangkok, Thailand.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Barcelona supporters celebrate at the end of the Champions League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are holding relatively steady after the Federal Reserve said Wednesday it would keep its main interest rate at the highest level since 2001, just as markets expected.
The S&P 500 was down 0.1% in afternoon trading, roughly where it was before the Fed’s announcement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 146 points, or 0.4%, as of 2:05 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was virtually flat.
In its policy statement, the Fed said out loud the fear that's recently sent stock prices lower and erased Wall Street's hopes for imminent cuts to interest rates by the Fed's policy-making committee: "In recent months, there has been a lack of further progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent inflation objective."
Traders themselves had already downgraded their expectations for rate cuts this year down to one or two, if any, after coming into the year forecasting six or more. That's because they saw the same string of reports cited as the Fed, which showed inflation remaining stubbornly higher than forecast this year.
But even with the threat of rates staying high for a while, Treasury yields eased a bit following the announcement. That’s because the Fed also offered financial markets some assistance by saying it would slow the pace of how much it’s shrinking its holdings of Treasurys and other bonds.
Such a move could help grease the trading wheels in the financial system, offering stability in the bond market.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.63% from 4.65% just before the announcement.
The market's focus now turns to an upcoming press conference by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He could give some guidance about the chances for a cut to rates later this year.
He recently hinted rates may stay high for a while as Fed officials wait for more confirmation inflation is heading down toward their 2% target. That was a disappointment for Wall Street, after the Fed earlier had indicated it was penciling in three cuts to rates during 2024.
Without the benefit of easing rates, which can goose the economy and investment prices, companies will need to deliver better profits.
CVS Health tumbled 16.6% after reporting weaker results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It said it’s been hurt by increased costs at its Medicare Advantage business, and it cut its forecast for profit over the full year.
Starbucks dropped 17.5% after falling short of expectations for both profit and revenue in the latest quarter. Sales trends weakened at its stores outside the United States in particular, and it cut its full-year forecasts for profit and revenue.
Super Micro Computer, which has been one of Wall Street’s hottest stars, gave back 14% despite topping expectations for profit. The company, which sells server and storage systems used in AI and other computing, fell shy of analysts’ forecasts for revenue. Expectations had bult up after its stock had already tripled this year amid a broader frenzy on Wall Street around artificial-intelligence technology.
Advanced Micro Devices dropped 9.3% despite reporting profit that matched expectations. Its revenue came in a bit shy of forecasts, as did the midpoint of its forecasted range for revenue in the current quarter.
They helped to offset a 2.4% gain for Amazon, which reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The retail behemoth credited reaccelerating growth at its cloud-computing business, in part, as it benefits from demand for AI.
Chemical producer DuPont was another winner, up 6.9%, after reporting stronger profit than expected. It said demand from customers in the semiconductor industry continued to recover.
In the bond market, Treasury yields had been easing since the morning following some weaker-than-expected reports on the economy.
One report from the Institute for Supply Management said the U.S. manufacturing sector unexpectedly fell back into contraction last month. Economists had been looking for one of the hardest-hit areas of the economy to stay steady. Perhaps more concerningly, manufacturers also reported prices were rising at a faster rate.
A separate report said U.S. employers were advertising slightly fewer jobs at the end of March than economists expected. The hope on Wall Street has been that a cooldown in the number of openings could help keep the job market in check, not allowing it to get so hot that it adds upward pressure on workers' wages and inflation overall. The downside is that if it weakens too much, a major support for the economy could give out.
The two-year Treasury yield, which closely tracks expectations for the Fed, eased to 5.00% from 5.04%. It's still near its highest level since November.
In stock markets abroad, many exchanges were shut for holidays. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3%, and London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3%.
AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimon Zhong contributed.
A banner for cruise operator Viking, marking its initial public offering, hangs on the front of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
FILE - A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, on April 22, 2024. Asian stocks fell Wednesday, May 1, 2024 with most of the markets in the region closed for a holiday. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks closed out their worst month since September. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE- A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's stock prices at a securities firm in Tokyo, on April 30, 2024. Asian stocks fell Wednesday, May 1, 2024 with most of the markets in the region closed for a holiday. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks closed out their worst month since September. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
