Following remarks made by a Federal Reserve official that gave rise to optimism that the institution might not need to hike interest rates further, stocks increased on Tuesday, continuing their November run.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 35,416.98, up 83.51 points, or 0.24%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the day at 14,281.76, up 0.29%, while the S&P 500 edged higher by 0.10% to 4,554.89.
Prior to this Tuesday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller had shown confidence in the policy’s ability to slow the economy and return inflation to 2% by saying that it is “now well positioned.” Prior to the Federal Open Market Committee’s policy meeting on December 12–13, he made this statement. The committee’s key lending rate is typically expected to remain unchanged by the markets.
Nike and Walmart, two Dow-member merchants, increased by 0.7% and 1.2%, respectively, on Tuesday, while Boeing contributed to the Dow’s rise by adding 1.4%. Newmont Corporation and Synchrony Financial both experienced gains of 6.3% and 5.1%, respectively, that lifted the S&P 500.
This month, stocks have increased. It looks like the Dow and S&P 500 will end the month roughly 7.2% and 8.6% higher, respectively. In November, the Nasdaq has increased by 11.1%.
“The bond market has been very emotional over the last three months, but really for the past three years, so we haven’t been moving that violently over the last couple of weeks, which tells me that some of that emotion might be starting to calm which I think would be a good thing,” said Mark Hackett, chief investment research officer at Nationwide Financial.
The yield on the 10-year note was down over 6 basis points to 4.33% on Tuesday, as U.S. Treasury yields fell.
In regards to consumer health and willingness to spend, Hackett continued, stating that he is still “cautiously optimistic.”
Source (CNBC)
