Wall Street's main indexes rose on Thursday after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he could support holding rates steady this month if data confirms price pressures are cooling. The S&P 500 gained 0.93% even as chip stocks slid and traders still priced a nearly 50% chance of a hike.
Wall Street's main indexes climbed Thursday after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he could support holding rates steady this month if data confirms price pressures are cooling off. The remarks prompted traders to lower bets on a rate hike and could dispel the gloom that followed the latest military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran.
Waller also cautioned that borrowing costs may need to rise if inflation data shows price pressures persisting. Traders still expect a nearly 50% chance of a hike this month, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Adding to the inflation debate, Brent crude rose 0.49% on Thursday, its fourth straight day of gains, while data released the same day showed U.S. services sector activity picked up in August.
Indexes advance, chips lag
At 11:25 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 612.96 points, or 1.15%, to 53,673.94, the S&P 500 gained 70.70 points, or 0.93%, to 7,737.70, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 323.62 points, or 1.23%, to 26,541.45.
Communication services stocks led gains among the S&P 500's 11 sectors, rising about 1.76%, while healthcare and materials slipped. Broadcom, however, dropped 4.9% to a five-month low after its fourth-quarter revenue forecast fell short of Wall Street's expectations, and the weakness spilled over to the Philadelphia Semiconductor index, which fell more than 1%.
Software and crypto-linked names jump
Snowflake soared 20.14% to its highest level since December 2021 after forecasting strong annual revenue, lifting sentiment across software stocks. ServiceNow rose 5.24%, while Salesforce and Adobe gained about 2.87% and 2.33%, respectively. Crypto-linked stocks also advanced after bitcoin rebounded from two straight losing sessions. Strategy surged 12.59%. Coinbase climbed 9.76% and Robinhood jumped 14.76%.
Investors are now eyeing Friday's jobs data, though some have cautioned against reading too much into the report, since Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has indicated controlling inflation remains his top priority. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 206,000 in the week ended August 29, broadly in line with expectations. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.09-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.64-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 14 new 52-week highs against seven new lows.
Source: Economy News
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