Wall Street climbs as August PCE cools, tempering Fed hike concerns
The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow rose after the Commerce Department said August PCE increased 3.4% year on year, below expectations. Traders cut bets on an October rate hike, while Boeing, Moderna and HPE moved on company-specific news.
4% est. Boeing beats Northrop for key Navy fighter contract Moderna slips after Citigroup downgrades to "sell" (Updates for market open) By Shashwat Chauhan and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi Sept 30 (Reuters) — Wall Street's main indexes gained on Wednesday, as a softer-than-anticipated inflation reading buoyed hopes that the Federal Reserve might not hike rates as soon as next month. 7%, per economists polled. Separately, second-quarter GDP data showed that the US economy grew at a solid clip, driven by robust consumer spending and business investment related to the buildout of AI infrastructure.
"The market had been tracing out a bullish formation, meaning the price pattern suggested that any positive catalyst could trigger a move higher and that's exactly what happened," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. Traders now see a roughly 35% chance of an October rate hike, down from about a 45% chance seen before the data, according to data compiled. Comments from at least four Fed officials, including Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, are due later in the day. 1%.
m. 11. Five of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were trading higher, with information technology and energy leading gains. Real estate and financials were the laggards.
Choppy September Coming To A Close Despite weakness in September, driven by bond market volatility and elevated oil prices amid the US-Iran conflict, the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were on pace for a second straight quarterly advance, if gains hold. The price-weighted Dow differed, with the index of 30 blue-chip US companies set for a quarterly fall and on track for its first monthly decline since March. 246%, a day after hitting its highest since June 2007. Crude oil prices rose on the day, with the December contract for Brent crude futures moving higher.
Warnings from leaders of the biggest AI companies earlier this month about the potential existential risks from the technology had also rattled the AI trade, which has been the dominant factor behind Wall Street's rise to record highs this year. The next test of the AI trade could be memory-chip giant Micron Technology's earnings due after the bell. 2% after the Pentagon said the plane maker has been selected to build the US Navy's next-generation stealth fighter. Boeing beat out rival Northrop Grumman for the development contract, worth $20 billion.
8%. 2 billion deal with Vultr. 8% after brokerage Citigroup downgraded its rating on the biotech company to "sell" from "neutral". 26-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 8 new 52-week highs and 13 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 26 new highs and 81 new lows. com;)