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The S&P 500 traded lower after the Federal Reserve outlined its plan to aggressively reduce the size of its balance sheet.
In its latest meeting minutes released Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee said it plans to allow a maximum of $60 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds and $35 billion in mortgage-backed securities to roll off its balance sheet on a monthly basis starting in May.
The minutes also noted that "many participants" believe at least one interest rate hike of 0.5% may be appropriate in the near future if inflation remains elevated.
Shares of social media platform Twitter gained more than 22% last week after influential Tesla CEO Elon Musk disclosed a 9.2% ownership stake in Twitter and joined Twitter's board of directors. Musk had previously criticized Twitter for "failing to adhere to free speech principles" prior to investing in the company.
On Tuesday, JetBlue Airways made an unsolicited $3.6 billion takeover offer for Spirit Airlines, outbidding an existing buyout offer from Frontier by 33%. Spirit shares are up 42% in the past month amid the bidding war.
More: Tesla announces potential stock split, sending the EV maker's shares higher
More: Fed chair warns inflation still too high as S&P 500 sees gains for 2nd consecutive week
Legendary Wall Street investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new $4.2 billion stake in PC and printer maker HP on Thursday. The vote of confidence from Buffett sent HP's stock up more than 12% for the week.
Tilray smoked
Shares of Canadian cannabis producer Tilray dropped more than 13% last week after the company reported quarterly earnings numbers that exceeded analyst estimates but sales growth that fell short of expectations.
This week, first-quarter earnings season kicks off with reports from big banks stocks, including JPMorgan Chase on Wednesday and Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley on Thursday.
Analysts have lowered their first-quarter earnings estimates for S&P 500 companies by about 0.7% since the beginning of the year, according to FactSet.
Economic numbers to watch
This week, investors will get more key economic updates on Tuesday when the U.S. Labor Department releases its monthly Consumer Price Index reading and on Thursday when the European Central Bank releases its latest interest rate decision and accompanying commentary.
Benzinga is a financial news and data company headquartered in Detroit.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: JetBlue's grab for Spirit sends discount airline's stock soaring