S&P 500 ends up, near flat for week after Monday's steep selloff
U.S. stocks gain for the day
Expedia gains after Q2 profit beat
Updates to 4 p.m. ET
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended higher on Friday and was little changed for the week after clawing back from Monday's steep dive that was prompted by fearsof a recession and unwinding of a global yen-funded carry trade.
The technology sector .SPLRCT led gains in the index for the day, while the Cboe Volatility Index .VIX, Wall Street's "fear gauge", was down on Friday after surging to 65.73 at the start of the week.
On Thursday, Fedpolicymakers expressed confidencethat inflation was cooling enough to allow interest-rate cuts ahead, and will take their cues on the size and timing of those cuts from the economic data.
Monday's big decline followed a sharp sell-off last week as a weaker-than-expected July jobs report sparked recession fears, and the Bank of Japan's decision to hike interest rates on July 31 led to a sharp appreciation in the yen. That resulted in the unwinding of currency carry trade positions in which the yen is used to buy high-yielding assets.
"For most of the last week the negative opinions were driving sentiment and direction and those have been outweighed by a little less pessimism," in recent days, said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.
But, he said, "there is going to continue to be a significant amount of uncertainty and anxiety hanging over the market for the course of the next month until we get to the next Fed meeting."
Investors see a 55% chance that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 50 basis points at its next policy meeting on Sept. 17-18, with a 25 basis point cut seen as having a 45% probability, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 25.11 points, or 0.47%, to end at 5,344.42 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 85.65 points, or 0.51%, to 16,745.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 49.86 points, or 0.13%, to 39,496.35.
Investors also awaitnext week's readings on U.S.consumer prices and retail sales for July, which could provide fresh evidence on the chances of a soft landing for the American economy.
Among individual stocks, videogame publisher Take-Two Interactive Software TTWO.O climbed as it expects net bookings to grow in fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
Expedia EXPE.O also advancedafter the online travel agency beat analysts' expectations for second-quarter profit.
Most S&P 500 sub-sectors set for weekly losses https://tmsnrt.rs/4dg835k
Wall Street's "fear gauge" saw sharp upswings this week https://tmsnrt.rs/4dg7TuG
Additional reporting by Shubham Batra and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
