US STOCKS-Wall St climbs on economic optimism, awaits Trump policies

Qorvo

17/01/2025 20:03

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      Barclays lifts PTs on Nvidia, Broadcom
    

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      Qorvo surges on Starboard stake
    

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      Indexes up: Dow 0.92%, S&P 500 1.15%, Nasdaq 1.65%
    

  
 (Updates to afternoon U.S. trading)
    By Chuck Mikolajczak
       Jan 17 (Reuters) - 
    U.S. stocks rallied on Friday on optimism over the health of
the economy and path of interest rates as investors braced for a
slew of policy changes under the incoming Trump administration.
    The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials were poised for their
biggest weekly percentage gains since late November and the
Nasdaq fared its best since early December. Data this week
allayed fears that inflation would resurge while expectations
have grown that the Federal Reserve will bump up the timing and
magnitude of rate hikes this year.
        The Commerce Department reported on Friday that U.S.
single-family 
    homebuilding rose
     to a 10-month high although demand will likely be curbed by
rising mortgage rates and an oversupply of new properties.
  
        A separate report revealed a surge in manufacturing
output last month. 
  
    
        President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated on
Monday, when U.S. markets will be closed for the Martin Luther
King Jr. Day holiday. 
  
        Uncertainty over the potential for some of Trump's
policies such as tariffs to rekindle rising inflation pressures
and slow the path of Fed rate cuts has weighed on equities in
recent weeks.
  
        A solid start to the corporate earnings season with
results from many big banks has also buoyed stocks, with the S&P
500 bank index  .SPXBK  up nearly 7% on the week.
  
        "Stronger growth, feeding into better corporate
earnings, you're kind of getting off to a start to the year here
that there's plenty of questions both in terms of fiscal and
monetary policy and what the Trump agenda will look like, or
what shape it will take," said Jim Baird, chief investment
officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Southfield,
Michigan.
  
        "Despite all those questions, we're starting the year on
a reasonably better footing than we've been on perhaps in the
last few years." 
  
        The Dow Jones Industrial Average  .DJI  rose 397.40
points, or 0.92%, to 43,550.93, the S&P 500  .SPX  climbed 68.27
points, or 1.15%, to 6,005.61 and the Nasdaq Composite  .IXIC 
gained 319.95 points, or 1.65%, at 19,658.24.
    The benchmark U.S. 10-year note yield  US10YT=RR  edged up
0.1 basis point to 4.607%, but has eased off a 14-month high of
4.809% hit earlier this week.
        Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said 
    inflation remains
     a problem, as recent data has pointed to a resilient
economy. However, Fed Governor Christopher Waller 
    indicated
     on Thursday the central bank could cut rates sooner and
faster than expected as inflation is likely to continue to ease.
  
        The Fed is widely expected to keep rates steady at its
policy meeting later this month, with the markets pricing in a
greater than 50% chance for a cut of at least 25 basis points
until June, LSEG data showed.  
  
        Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, led by a gain of
more than 2% in consumer discretionary  .SPLRCD  stocks, while
healthcare  .SPXHC , down 0.26%, was the sole decliner. 
  
        Nvidia  NVDA.O  gained 3.2% and Broadcom  AVGO.O  rose
3.6% after Barclays raised its price targets on the stocks,
helping to boost the PHLX semiconductor index  .SOX  by 2.8%.
  
        In addition, Intel  INTC.O  surged 8.6% on 
    speculation
     of a takeover and Qorvo  QRVO.O  shot up 13.5% after
activist investor 
    Starboard Value disclosed
     a 7.7% stake in the chipmaker.
  
    Shares of social media firms such as Meta  META.O  had a
muted reaction after the Supreme Court ruled against TikTok's
challenge to a law that would force its app's sale or ban in the
United States. Meta shares edged up 0.4% while Snap  SNAP.N 
lost 2.5%.
        Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 2.32-to-1 on
the NYSE and by 1.76-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
  
        The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 63 new highs and 61 new
lows.
  

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housing starts and building permits    https://reut.rs/42kjNRK
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 (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Aadditional reporting by
Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by
Richard Chang)
 ((charles.mikolajczak@tr.com; @ChuckMik))