S&P 500 ends sharply higher, jobs data fuels interest rate optimism
Send a link to a friend
[August 30, 2023] By
Shristi Achar A and Noel Randewich
(Reuters) - Wall Street ended sharply higher on Tuesday, lifted by
Tesla, Nvidia and other megacap growth stocks after a drop in monthly
job openings cemented expectations of a pause in interest rate hikes by
the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 logged its strongest one-day gain since June 2, while the
Nasdaq notched its strongest session since July 28, and both indexes
closed at more than two-week highs.
The sharp gains came after the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor
Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed the number of job openings stood at 8.827
million in July, falling for the third straight month and signaling
easing labor market pressures.
Investors also parsed a report from the Conference Board showing
consumer confidence in the United States fell to 106.1 in August,
compared with expectations of 116.
Interest rate futures signaled an 87% chance the Fed will keep rates
steady at its September meeting and a 54% chance it will keep rates on
hold through November, according the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/30/images/ads/current/danieleeten_sda_FAIR_2023.png)
"Investors are of the mindset that 'You know what, maybe interest rate
hikes are indeed behind us. So let's buy back into stocks,'" said Sam
Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note eased to 4.11%, while that on the
two-year note fell back below 5% after hovering around that level for
the past few sessions.
The decline in yields supported growth stocks, with Nvidia climbing 4.2%
to close at its highest ever.
Tesla rallied 7.7%, even after documents showed a U.S. regulator sent a
special order to the electric vehicle maker asking questions about
changes to the driver monitoring system for its Autopilot software.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/30/images/ads/current/werth_sda_FAIR_2023.png)
Nvidia and Tesla led in turnover on Wall Street, with over $33 billion
traded in each stock.
Alphabet received a 2.7% boost from a swath of fresh
artificial-intelligence technology and partnerships unveiled by the
Google-parent.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/083023PIX/busine73.jpg)
A Wall Street sign is pictured outside
the New York Stock Exchange in New York, October 28, 2013.
REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/30/images/ads/current/graue_lda_preowned_082223.jpg)
The S&P 500 climbed 1.45% to end the session at 4,497.63 points.
The Nasdaq gained 1.74% to 13,943.76 points, while Dow Jones
Industrial Average rose 0.85% to 34,852.67 points.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 10.0 billion
shares traded, compared to an average of 10.7 billion shares over
the previous 20 sessions.
All 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by communication services,
up 2.46%, followed by a 2.35% gain in consumer discretionary.
The July non-farm payrolls report on Friday will offer investors
more clarity about the state of the labor market. Focus will also be
on the personal consumption expenditures index, the Fed's preferred
inflation gauge, which is due on Thursday.
Lack of hawkish surprises in Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments at
the Jackson Hole symposium last week buoyed stocks on Monday, with
the focus now on the upcoming economic data to gauge how long the
central bank could keep interest rates elevated.
Catalent jumped almost 5% after the contract drugmaker reached a
settlement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management to
conduct a review.
Verizon and AT&T each gained more than 3% after Citi upgraded the
telecom companies to "buy" from "neutral".
U.S.-listed shares of PDD Holdings rallied over 15% after the
Chinese e-commerce firm beat second-quarter revenue estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 by a
8.2-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 21 new highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq
recorded 52 new highs and 115 new lows.
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru, and
by Noel Randewich in Oakland, Calif.; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta
and Deepa Babington)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |