US STOCKS-Wall St climbs as traders look to Fed speakers for rate outlook

Equifax

08/10/2025 17:07

Indexes up: Dow 0.38%, S&P 500 0.52%, Nasdaq 0.77%

Dell climbs after multiple price target hikes

US-listed shares of gold miners jump

Joby Aviation descends on pricing stock offering

Updates with late morning trading

By Niket  Nishant and Sukriti Gupta

Oct 8 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes edged higher on Wednesday following a brief interruption in a steady rally, as investors awaited fresh clues on the interest-rate trajectory.

With the U.S. government shutdown delaying the release of key economic reports, traders are likely to lean heavily on commentary from Federal Reserve officials to guide their positioning.

Euphoria around artificial intelligence has helped stocks shrug off concerns about the shutdown, keeping markets buoyant through what is typically a weak period for equities.

"Shutdowns are speed bumps but AI is a highway and the price action shows drivers are flooring it," said Eric Schiffer, chief executive officer at investment firm the Patriarch Organization.

Gold broke above $4,000 an ounce for the first time, underscoring growing appetite for a hedge against policy risks and a shaky macroeconomic backdrop.

"The momentum is well-supported. A softer dollar, persistent central bank buying and elevated geopolitical risk continue to underpin the move," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

At 11:44 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 179.40 points, or 0.38%, to 46,782.38, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 35.17 points, or 0.52%, to 6,749.76 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC climbed 174.57 points, or 0.77%, to 22,962.94.

The S&P 500 tech sector .SPLRCT rose 1.1% with Nvidia NVDA.O gaining 1.8% and Micron Technology MU.O up 5%.

The gains in tech stocks also boosted the Nasdaq.

The Industrials .SPLRCI sector rose 0.9% on the S&P 500. Caterpillar CAT.N rose 3.7%, while Boeing BA.N added 1.6%.

On the benchmark index, healthcare .SPXHC stocks added 0.3% while Moderna MRNA.O rose 3%. BofA Global Research upgraded the U.S. healthcare sector to "overweight" from "underweight".

Remarks from Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, Fed Governor Michael Barr, and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari are on deck. Minutes from the Fed's September meeting are also due at 2 p.m. ET.

Separately, investors are also digesting data that shows signs of cooling in the labor market.

Global investment firm Carlyle CG.O estimated on Tuesday that U.S. employers added just 17,000 jobs in September, well below the 54,000 gain economists polled by Reuters had expected in the official nonfarm payrolls report, which has been delayed.

Among stocks, Fair Isaac Corp FICO.N fell 7.8% after credit bureau Equifax EFX.N said it plans to offer cheaper mortgage credit scores.

U.S.-listed shares of gold miners rose, with Newmont NEM.N and Gold Fields GFI.N up 2.2% and 3.8%, respectively.

Dell DELL.N hit its highest since May last year and was last up 7.2% after multiple brokerages raised their price target on the stock.

Datadog DDOG.O rose 6.6% after Bernstein raised its price target on the cloud security firm, while Intercontinental Exchange ICE.N fell 2.2% after Barclays cut its price target on the stock.

Joby Aviation JOBY.N declined 10.6% after the electric air taxi maker on Tuesday priced a $514 million share sale at a 10.9% discount to its last closing price.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.34-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.49-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 41 new lows.

 (Reporting by Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Anil D'Silva)

 ((Niket.Nishant@thomsonreuters.com;))