S&P 500, Nasdaq close at record highs as data supports Fed easing
Private payrolls data slows in May
CrowdStrike gains after strong Q2 forecast
HPE climbs after upbeat revenue forecasts
Indexes up: Dow 0.25%, S&P 1.18%, Nasdaq 1.96%
Adds market details after close of trading
By Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) -The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes hit record closing highs on Wednesday, powered mainly by technology stocks as markets digested economic data that could support a much-expected start to the Federal Reserve's policy easing cycle.
Technology stocks .SPLRCT led advances among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, followed by equities in communications .SPLRCL and industrials .SPLRCI sectors. Consumer staples .SPLRCS stocks were the biggest losers.
The May private payrolls report on Wednesday was the latest data to suggest an easing in labor market tightness that could propel the Fed to begin cutting rates this year. A report on Tuesday showed job openings fell in April to the fewest in more than three years.
"We're seeing the economic data starting to ease up a little bit and the repercussions for that is that you're seeing the pressure on rates come off the boil a little bit mixed in with the potential for weaker economic data, which is a pretty good recipe for the bond market," said Jack Janasiewicz, a portfolio manager at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions in Boston.
Traders now see a nearly 69% chance of a September rate reduction, according to the CME's FedWatch tool. Expectations had hovered around 50% last week.
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields fell to a two-month low on Wednesday after a report pointed to weaker-than-expected job growth ahead of Friday's highly anticipated government employment report for May.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 96.04 points, or 0.25%, to 38,807.33, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 62.69 points, or 1.18%, to 5,354.03 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 330.86 points, or 1.96%, to 17,187.91.
The S&P 500's previous record-high close was 5,321.41 on May 21, and the Nasdaq's previous record close was 17,019.88 on May 28.
Chip stocks .SOX leapt 4.5%, buoyed by gains to Nvidia NVDA.O and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing TSM.N.
Nvidia's market valuation hit the $3 trillion mark for the first time as the chipmaker overtook Apple AAPL.O to become the world's second-most valuable company.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise HPE.N rose 10.7% after forecasting third-quarter revenue above Street expectations, helped by upbeat demand for its AI servers.
Dollar Tree DLTR.O slipped 4.9% after a disappointing quarterly profit forecast. The budget retailer said it would explore options that include a potential sale or spinoff of Family Dollar.
Intel INTC.O gained 2.5% after buyout firm Apollo Global Management APO.N agreed to purchase a 49% equity interest for $11 billion in a joint venture related to the chipmaker's Ireland manufacturing unit.
CrowdStrike Holdings CRWD.O jumped 11.9% after forecasting second-quarter revenue above estimates when markets closed on Tuesday.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.39-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,759 stocks rose and 1,492 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.85-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and 9 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 62 new highs and 116 new lows.
Total volume of shares traded across U.S. exchanges was about 10.8 billion, compared with the 12.6 billion average over the last 20 trading days.
Reuters poll-U.S. Fed policy rate forecasts - June 2024 https://tmsnrt.rs/4aN3r4v
Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Additional reporting by Lisa Mattackal, Saqib Ahmed and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru. Editing by Pooja Desai and Matthew Lewis
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.
