Traders work on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 22, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Stocks rose Tuesday, resuming their November rally, as comments from a Federal Reserve official raised hope that the central bank may not need to raise interest rates further.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 83.51 points, or 0.24%, to close at 35,416.98. The S&P 500 inched higher by 0.10% to 4,554.89, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.29% to end the session at 14,281.76.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller had expressed confidence earlier Tuesday that policy is “currently well positioned” to slow the economy and bring inflation back to 2%. His commentary comes ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s policy meeting on Dec. 12-13. Markets generally expect the committee to keep its key lending rate steady.
Boeing helped lift the Dow on Tuesday, adding 1.4%, while Dow-member retailers Nike and Walmart gained 0.7% and 1.2%, respectively. The S&P 500 got a lift from Newmont Corporation and Synchrony Financial, which were higher by 6.3% and 5.1%, respectively.
Stocks have rallied this month. The Dow and S&P 500 are on pace to finish the month about 7.2% and 8.6% higher, respectively. The Nasdaq has climbed 11.1% in November.
“We really haven’t been moving that violently over the last couple of weeks, which tells me some of the emotion that the bond market had been in over the past three months, but really for the past three years, might be starting to calm which I think would be a good thing,” said Mark Hackett, Nationwide Financial’s chief of investment research.
U.S. Treasury yields dipped on Tuesday, with the yield on the 10-year note last down nearly 6 basis points at 4.33%.
Hackett added that he remains “cautiously optimistic” about the health of the consumer and their willingness to continue spending.
Data released Tuesday showed consumer confidence improved in November, even as most still expect a recession ahead. The Conference Board’s index rose to 102 for the month, higher than a downwardly revised 99.1 from October and ahead of the Dow Jones estimate for 101.
On the earnings front, CrowdStrike is expected to report earnings after the bell.
Read the full article here