US STOCKS-Stocks climb as megacaps lead; inflation data, earnings on deck

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10/01/2024 21:04

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      Nvidia rises after TSMC's Q4 revenue beat 
    

        * 
      Boeing bounces after two-day slump
    

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      US SEC says bitcoin ETFs not yet approved, crypto stocks
slip  
    

  
 (Updated at 4:00 p.m. ET/2100 GMT)
    By Chuck Mikolajczak
       NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - 
    U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, building steam on strength in
megacaps, but gains were limited ahead of inflation reports and
major bank earnings later in the week.
    Microsoft  MSFT.O , Meta Platforms  META.O  and Nvidia
 NVDA.O  were the biggest boosts to the S&P 500 index, as the
benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield  US10YT=RR  held near
4%and a $37 billion auction of the notes drew above-average
demand.
        Communication services  .SPLRCL  was the best performing
of the 11 major S&P sectors, lifted by a roughly 4% rise in Meta
Platforms'  META.O  stock to the highest level since September
2021, after Mizuho 
    raised its price target
     to $470 from $400.
  
    Nvidia  NVDA.O  hit a record high after fellow chipmaker
TSMC  2330.TW  beat fourth-quarter revenue expectations.
    After ending 2023 with a strong rally, stocks have struggled
to find upward momentum, with the S&P 500 barely positive on the
year, as mixed economic data and comments from Federal Reserve
officials have led investors to dial back expectations for the
timing and size of any rate cuts from the central bank this
year.
    "What the market is doing, it's reassessing its 2024
expectations in terms of earnings and in terms of interest
rates, and really looking to justify the surge in prices that we
saw in November and December," said Sam Stovall, chief
investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York.  
        "It's sort of a good sign that the market is treading
water early in the year because it implies that investors really
don't want to miss out on anything else that could be good."
  
        According to preliminary data, the S&P 500
 .SPX  gained 26.95 points, or 0.57%, to end at 4,783.45 points,
while the Nasdaq Composite  .IXIC  gained 111.94 points, or
0.75%, to 14,969.65. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
 .DJI  rose 170.57 points, or 0.45%, to 37,695.73.
    
  
    The focus will turn to the December consumer and producer
inflation reports, due on Thursday and Friday, respectively,
which could help determine the monetary policy path for the
central bank.
    Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams
said on Wednesday that it is still too soon to call for rate
cuts as the central bank still has some distance to go on
getting inflation back to its 2% target.
    Market participants have scaled back expectations to a 67.6%
chance for at least a 25-basis-point rate cut in March,
according to CME's FedWatch Tool.
    On Friday, banking giants JPMorgan Chase  JPM.N , Bank of
America  BAC.N , Citigroup  C.N  and Wells Fargo  WFC.N  are
expected to report lower fourth-quarter profits.
    Crypto stocks including Coinbase  COIN.O  and Riot Platforms
 RIOT.O  each declined after the U.S. securities regulator said
a hacked social media message was posted on its account
regarding the eagerly awaited approval of exchange traded funds
(ETFs).
    The stocks barely reacted to a notice from CBOE that several
spot bitcoin ETFs from multiple asset managers were approved. 
    Boeing  BA.N  rose following a 9.3% tumble in the prior two
sessions, after CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged errors by the U.S.
planemaker as more than 170 jets remained grounded for a fourth
day.
    DocGo  DCGO.O  plunged after Fuzzy Panda Research revealed a
short position on the health services company's stock.
    

 (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Richard Chang)
 ((charles.mikolajczak@tr.com; @ChuckMik;))