2024-07-31 23:34:52
In an impressive rally, Wall Street once the Federal Reserve has signaled that interest rate cuts are imminent, although it kept interest rates unchanged, as expected. Investors returned strongly to tech majors as chip companies soared.
THE S&P 500 strengthened approximately 1.58% to 5,522.30 units, while o Nasdaq recorded gains of 2.64% closing at 17,599.40 units. This is the best session since February for both indices.
THE Dow Jones rose 99.46 points or 0.24% to 40,842.79 points.
At session highs, the Dow rose 455.30 points, or 1.1%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted gains of 2.1% and 3.2%, respectively, before paring them.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powellsaid that if the data continues to give the central bank confidence that inflation is decelerating, then it may move.
“If that target is met, a rate cut could be on the table soon, even at the September meeting,” Powell said.
The Federal Reserve struck a much more upbeat tone, highlighting that further progress has been made in recent months in reducing inflation towards its 2% target.
Employment data released today points to a slowing economy and supports central bankers’ efforts to reduce inflation. The pace of U.S. private-sector job growth slowed further in July as wage gains narrowed to a three-year low, according to the latest data.
The big names in technology are back in the limelight. Nvidia rallied 12.9%, recouping some of July’s losses, with its stock posting its best daily performance since February 22. The chipmaker was buoyed by better-than-expected results from Advanced Micro Devices, which boosted investor sentiment for the entire semiconductor industry. Other tech stocks also moved higher, including Apple, Meta and Amazon. However, Microsoft shares fell 1% as revenue from its cloud business disappointed.
Boeing also rose 2% after announcing a new chief executive, despite reporting a bigger-than-expected loss and disappointing second-quarter revenue.
However, despite a tech rebound in today’s session, the Nasdaq ended July in the red, down 0.8%. The S&P 500 gained 4.4% in its best monthly performance since December 2023, while the S&P 500 rose 1.1%.