Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, adding to the strong gains posted in the previous session. With the continued upward move, the Dow and the S&P 500 have reached new record intraday highs.
Currently, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 148.36 points or 0.8 percent at 18,491.30 and the S&P 500 is up 35.72 points or 0.6 percent at 5,850.75. The narrower Dow is posting more modest gain, up 44.35 points or 0.1 percent at 42,908.21.
The continued strength on Wall Street comes amid optimism about the outlook for interest rates following last Friday’s report on producer price inflation.
The Labor Department report showed producer prices were unexpectedly unchanged in September, while the annual rate price growth slowed modestly.
While hopes the Federal Reserve will lower rates by another 50 basis points next month have largely evaporated, the data reinforced optimism the central bank will cut rates by 25 basis points.
CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 86.2 percent chance the Fed will cut rates by a quarter point at its November meeting.
Overall trading activity appears subdued, however, with some traders likely away from their desks due to the Columbus Day holiday.
A lack of major U.S. economic data may also be keeping some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of key reports on retail sales and industrial production later in the week.
Earnings news from big-name companies, such as Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), UnitedHealth (UNH), Morgan Stanley (MS) and Netflix (NFLX), is also likely to attract attention in the coming days.
Sector News
Despite the advance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.
Semiconductor stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, however, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbing by 1.2 percent.
On the other hand, networking stocks are seeing notable weakness, dragging the NYSE Arca Networking Index down by 1.6 percent.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Monday, with Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China’s Shanghai Composite Index surged by 2.1 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid by 0.8 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent.
The bond markets are closed in observance of Columbus Day.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Mostly Higher Amid Interest Rate Optimism
2024-10-14 14:58:40
