US STOCKS-Equities rise with inflation data, earnings in focus; Alphabet drops
09/10/2024 19:50
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Google-parent Alphabet down on potential DOJ action
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Boeing falls after talks with union halted
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Fed minutes
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Indexes: Dow up 0.78%, S&P 500 up 0.46%, Nasdaq up 0.35%
(Updated prices at 2:24 p.m ET/ 1824 GMT)
By Sinéad Carew and Lisa Pauline Mattackal
Oct 9 (Reuters) -
Wall Street's three main stock indexes rose on Wednesday as
investors digested Federal Reserve meeting minutes ahead of
September inflation data and earnings reports, but Alphabet
shares fell on fears the U.S. would break up Google.
Stocks held steady after the release of the Fed's
September meeting minutes
showed a "substantial majority" of officials supported an
outsized half-point rate cut. There was broader agreement that
the move would not commit the Fed to any particular pace of cuts
in the future.
After the news, traders were slightly less optimistic about
an easing in November, pricing in a 76% chance of a
25-basis-point reduction in borrowing costs and a 24%
probability the Fed keeps rates on hold, according to CME's
FedWatch.
Shares in market heavyweight Alphabet GOOGL.O were down
2.5% after the U.S. Department of Justice said it may ask a
judge to force Google to divest parts of its business. These
include its Chrome web browser and its Android operating system,
to curtail its search monopoly.
"News about antitrust initiatives create worries about
what that means for the technology sector broadly and
specifically the most dominant players," said Daniel Morris,
chief market strategist for asset management at BNP Paribas.
Trading has been choppy this week, with investors
adjusting rate-cut expectations after a surprisingly strong
jobs report.
The market is awaiting the Consumer Price Index
inflation report on Thursday and the third-quarter corporate
earnings season, which kicks off in earnest with some of the
biggest U.S. banks reporting on Friday.
BNP's Morris said this was likely helping investor
sentiment along with a drop in oil prices, which had gained in
five of the previous six trading days due to an escalating
conflict in the Middle East.
"Lower oil prices and expectations for good news on
inflation and looking forward to earnings season are all broadly
supportive for equity prices," said Morris.
Investors were also monitoring the potential impact of
Category 5 Hurricane Milton, due to make landfall in Florida on
Wednesday.
As of 2:24 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
.DJI rose 327.20 points, or 0.78%, to 42,407.57. The S&P 500
.SPX gained 26.17 points, or 0.46%, at 5,777.30 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC climbed 63.05 points, or 0.35%, to 18,245.96.
Most S&P 500 industry sectors rose, although rate-sensitive
utilities .SPLRCU and real estate .SPLRCR fell along with
the communications services index .SPLRCL , which includes
Alphabet.
Boeing BA.N fell 2.8% after
talks
between the company and its key manufacturing union broke
down.
Among gainers, shares of Norwegian Cruise Line NCLH.N
outperformed the broader market with a 10% gain after Citi
upgraded its rating to "buy." Its peer Carnival CCL.N rose
7.4% while Royal Caribbean Cruises RCL.N was up 4.7%.
Shares of Arcadium Lithium ALTM.N soared 30.5% after Rio
Tinto RIO.AX said it would acquire the miner for $6.7 billion.
U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms dropped as investors
continued to question if China would announce new stimulus
measures. Alibaba Group BABA.N fell 0.9% and PDD Holdings
PDD.O was off 1.6%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.19-to-1
ratio on the NYSE where there were 278 new highs and 41 new
lows.
On the Nasdaq, 2,075 stocks rose and 2,049 fell as
advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.01-to-1 ratio. The
S&P 500 posted 47 new 52-week highs and two new lows while the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 85 new highs and 113 new lows.
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U.S. Stocks and Fed Policy https://tmsnrt.rs/3U1oVoK
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(Reporting by Sinéad Carew, Lisa Mattackal and Pranav Kashyap
in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Richard Chang)
((sinead.carew@thomsonreuters.com; +13322191897))