NEW YORK: US stocks rose on Tuesday, lifted by signs of progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, while a widely tracked part of the Treasury yield curve flashed warning signs for the economy as it neared inversion.
Moscow has decided to drastically cut military activity around Kyiv and northern Ukraine, while Ukraine proposed adopting a neutral status but with international guarantees that it would be protected from attack.
Risk-on sentiment returned with European stocks rallying and gold prices slipping, while Brent crude prices dropped to $108 a barrel.
“This market right here has turned into very much a headline-driven market,” said Robert Gilliland, managing director at Concenture Wealth Management.
“The challenge is that I’m not certain that many people actually believe in the long term. What people are doing is looking for short-term opportunities and, therefore, buyers are driving up the market here.” Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 indexes advanced in afternoon trading.
Oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp fell more than 2% each, while the broader S&P 500 energy declined 2.4%. Material stocks dipped.
Russia’s invasion, which began on Feb. 24, has triggered a rally in commodity and metal prices, fueling worries over surging inflation as the US Federal Reserve and other major central banks start withdrawing stimulus put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data showed US consumer confidence edged higher in March from a year-low reading a month earlier, with Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions improving on the back of a healthy job market, offsetting concerns over inflation.
At 12:14 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 194.92 points, or 0.56%, at 35,150.81, the S&P 500 was up 29.76 points, or 0.65%, at 4,605.28, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 172.74 points, or 1.20%, at 14,527.64.
While all the three major US indexes are on course to end March higher on the back of strong economic data and gains in megacaps, they are set to record their worst quarter since the first three months of 2020 when the pandemic wreaked havoc on financial markets.
Meanwhile, the spread between US 2-year and 10-year Treasury yields narrowed below five basis points, moving another step closer to inversion, as traders bet that faster rate hikes would hurt the US economy over the longer term.
“People are understanding that cash is going to lose when you have high inflation. Bonds have risk to them. And, therefore, people are looking at where they can put money and that’s why you’re seeing some of this with stocks,” said Gilliland.
Megacap companies like Meta Platforms Inc, Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc gained between 1.2% and 2.4%.
FedEx Corp gained 4.1% after the global delivery conglomerate named operating chief Raj Subramaniam as its top boss.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.92-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 3.11-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 45 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 57 new highs and 27 new lows.