S&P 500 ends near flat; utilities drop, focus on rate outlook
Send a link to a friend
[October 03, 2023] By
Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended nearly flat on Monday with
utilities falling sharply and investors weighing the likelihood the
Federal Reserve will need to hold interest rates higher for longer.
The Nasdaq rose, and shares of Nvidia gained 2.9% after Goldman Sachs
added the chipmaker to its conviction list of top stock picks.
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said she remains willing to support another
increase in the central bank's policy interest rate at a future meeting
if upcoming data shows progress on inflation is stalling or proceeding
too slowly.
The U.S. central bank said last month it may hike rates again as it
struggles to bring inflation closer to its 2% annual target.
"We ended September with a market that was enveloped by uncertainty,"
said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in
Charlotte, North Carolina. All three major indexes posted losses for
September and the last quarter.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Oct/03/images/ads/current/castlemanor_sda_FINANCIAL_2017.png)
"Coming into this month, it's a market that needs confirmation that
earnings are working their way higher. And, what's crucial for the
market is to ascertain where the Fed is headed," she said.
Investors continue to keep a close eye on rising Treasury yields, she
said, but Monday's advance in yields was tied to an agreement to avert a
partial U.S. government shutdown, which reduced demand for the debt
before this week's key jobs data.
Rate-sensitive utilities was the day's worst-performing S&P sector,
falling 4.7% in its biggest one-day percentage decline since April 2020.
Energy also fell sharply along with lower oil prices, while technology
was up 1.3%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 74.15 points, or 0.22%, to
33,433.35, the S&P 500 gained 0.34 points, or 0.01%, at 4,288.39 and the
Nasdaq Composite added 88.45 points, or 0.67%, at 13,307.77.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/100323PIX/busine60.jpg)
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in
New York City, U.S., September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File
Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/02/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png)
Tesla shares ended up 0.6% even as the electric vehicle maker missed
market estimates for third-quarter deliveries.
Economic data showed U.S. factory activity decreased at a
shallower-than-expected pace in September, while U.S. construction
spending increased in August. Investors anxiously await the monthly
U.S. jobs report due on Friday.
S&P 500 companies begin to report third-quarter results later this
month, with analysts expecting earnings to have risen 1.6% from the
year-ago quarter after falling 2.8% in the second quarter, according
LSEG IBES data Friday.
Among S&P utilities, shares of NextEra Energy fell 9% and hit their
lowest level in about 3-1/2 years.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.84 billion shares, compared with the
10.49 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading
days.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 4.61-to-1
ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.43-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted two new 52-week highs and 52 new lows; the Nasdaq
Composite recorded 24 new highs and 327 new lows.
(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; additional
reporting by Shubham Batra and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru;
Editing by Vinay Dwivedi, Maju Samuel and Richard Chang)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Oct/03/images/ads/current/ldn_sda_KAREN_012823.png) |