NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes rose on Wednesday, helped by bets that the Federal Reserve had reached the end of its rate hikes, although a rise in Treasury yields and some underwhelming earnings reports kept gains in check.
US equities bounced back in November, with the S&P 500 moving closer to its highest level this year, as a recent clutch of data pointed to the softening of the economy due to the Fed’s tough policy actions, while also suggesting that it was resilient enough to avoid a recession.
However, minutes from the latest Fed meeting on Tuesday showing a cautious approach towards monetary policy weighed on optimism around the prospects of a rate cut early next year.
Light trading volumes also impacted market moves ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
Clouding the outlook for interest rate cuts further, a survey showed US consumers’ inflation expectations rose for a second straight month in November.
“They (Fed policymakers) are really keen on lowering inflation and yet it feels like investors think that by the middle of next year, they’re going to be bringing things down because we can see a softening in the economy,” said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners.
Treasury yields reversed course to edge higher following the survey data, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note last at 4.4314%.
Another report showed initial jobless claims fell more than expected last week. Meanwhile, durable goods orders posted a bigger-than-expected drop of 5.4% in October.
Nvidia’s shares fell 3.4% after the chip designer forecast overall fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street targets, but warned US export curbs could lead to a steep drop in sales in China.
Investors also watched the latest turn of events at OpenAI after the ChatGPT maker reached an agreement for Sam Altman to return as CEO days after his ouster. Shares of the startup’s financial backer Microsoft rose 1.2%.
The S&P 500 energy sub-index fell 0.8%, lagging other major sectors as crude prices tumbled over 4% after OPEC+ producers unexpectedly delayed a meeting on output.
At 11:22 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 128.74 points, or 0.37%, at 35,217.03, the S&P 500 was up 15.75 points, or 0.35%, at 4,553.94, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 69.00 points, or 0.49%, at 14,268.98.
Among other major movers, Deere & Co shed 5.2% after the farm equipment maker forecast 2024 profit below analysts’ estimates. Peer Caterpillar also fell 1.7%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.03-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.86-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 42 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 67 new highs and 67 new lows.
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