US STOCKS-Wall Street indexes rise as data keeps rate cut views intact

Figma

04/09/2025 19:41

Updates to afternoon trading, adds analyst comment

Salesforce drops after downbeat revenue forecast

American Eagle Outfitters surges on strong sales forecast

Indexes: Dow up 0.7%, S&P 500 up 0.6%, Nasdaq up 0.6%

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) - The three major U.S. stock indexes were higher on Thursday as labor market data did not change expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month.

Shares of chip company Broadcom AVGO.O, considered a key artificial intelligence player, were up 1.2% ahead of its quarterly results due after the closing bell.

Also helping the market, Amazon.com AMZN.O was up more than 3%, while Meta Platforms META.O was up more than 1%.

Data earlier showed that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, while hiring by private employers slowed in August, further evidence that labor market conditions were softening.

But investors are especially keen to see the U.S. monthly jobs report due on Friday.

"The labor market data we're going to get - payrolls - tomorrow I don't see really changing anything significantly because (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell has effectively already told us we're getting a cut unless it's really, really out of bounds," said Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategies at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 325.18 points, or 0.72%, to 45,596.41, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 36.04 points, or 0.56%, to 6,484.30 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 124.88 points, or 0.58%, to 21,622.61.

Investors are 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 and Powell's dovish comments.

Limiting some of the day's gains, Salesforce CRM.N shares fell 5.2% after the company forecast third-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, signaling lagging monetization for its AI agent platform.

September is historically a weak month for stocks, with the S&P 500 losing 1.5% on average since 2000, according to LSEG data.

Among other gainers, American Eagle Outfitters AEO.N shares jumped after the apparel company forecast third-quarter comparable sales above estimates on Wednesday.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.08-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 181 new highs and 53 new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 2,340 stocks rose and 2,120 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.1-to-1 ratio.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York and Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai, Maju Samuel and Matthew Lewis)

((Purvi.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com;))