US STOCKS-Wall St gains after labor data keeps rate cut bets intact; Salesforce falls
04/09/2025 17:42
For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window. Indexes up: Dow 0.47%, S&P 500 0.38%, Nasdaq 0.29% Salesforce drops after downbeat revenue forecast American Eagle Outfitters surges on strong sales forecast Private payrolls increase less than expected in August Updates with afternoon levels By Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur Sept 4 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on Thursday after the latest labor market data kept intact expectations of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, while declines in Salesforce limited gains. U.S. private payrolls increased less than anticipated in August, while weekly jobless claims came in higher than expected , in the latest data pointing to easing labor market conditions. Investors are still pricing in a 95% probability of a 25 basis point cut, CME's FedWatch Tool showed. The move was largely expected after July's bleak payrolls figures, Fed Chair Jerome Powell's dovish comments and a weak job openings report for July. The focus now shifts to Friday's highly anticipated nonfarm payrolls data. "I'm hoping there would be a Goldilocks number where we're not creating jobs like we were, but we're also not falling off the cliff," said Ken Mahoney, president of Mahoney Asset Management. "The Fed figured out that if they had to fix something in their dual mandate, the best thing for the overall economy is making sure companies are not laying off more people." Separately, the Institute for Supply Management's index showed U.S. services sector activity picked up in August. Meanwhile, Salesforce CRM.N fell 5.5% after it forecast third-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, signaling lagging monetization for its AI agent platform. While AI-linked companies have driven U.S. stock indexes to record highs this year, their momentum slowed last month on concerns over valuations and results from bellwether Nvidia NVDA.O which fell short of heightened expectations. On Thursday, Amazon.com AMZN.O gained 3.3%, while Meta Platforms META.O jumped 1.8%, boosting the consumer discretionary .SPLRCD and communication services sectors .SPLRCL. At 12:02 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 215.80 points, or 0.47%, to 45,486.03, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 24.87 points, or 0.38%, to 6,473.01 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 62.37 points, or 0.29%, to 21,560.10. Investors watched President Donald Trump's nominee, Stephen Miran's, Senate confirmation hearing for an open Fed board seat, where he assured he was not asked to commit to rate cuts if confirmed. Wall Street had a dour start to September, pressured by rising Treasury yields. The month has been historically bad, with the S&P 500 losing 1.5% on average since 2000, according to LSEG data. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed higher on Wednesday, boosted by Google-parent Alphabet GOOGL.O hitting a record high after a Washington judge ruled the company would not have to sell its Chrome browser. The stock fell 1.2% on Thursday. Market participants will also parse Fed official Austan Goolsbee's comments later in the day. Central bank officials had said on Wednesday that labor market worries continued to animate their belief that rate cuts still lay ahead. American Eagle Outfitters AEO.N soared 32% and was set for its biggest one-day gain after the apparel company forecast third-quarter comparable sales above estimates on Wednesday. Figma FIG.N fell 16% after the design software firm's first quarterly results as a public company failed to impress investors. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.01-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 54 new highs and 114 new lows. (Reporting by Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Maju Samuel) ((Purvi.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com;))