On Thursday, stocks increased as traders anticipated likely Federal Reserve actions, with chipmaker Nvidia leading the sector gains.
161 points, or 0.5%, were added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500
gained 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite index increased by 0.7%.
Nvidia helped the Nasdaq by rising more than 13% on the back of better-than-anticipated fourth-quarter profits and revenue.
The S&P 500 experienced its fourth consecutive losing session on Wednesday, falling 0.2%. While the Nasdaq Composite saw a slight gain, the Dow also declined.
The actions followed the Federal Reserve’s publishing of the minutes from its most recent meeting, which ended on February 1. The minutes revealed that the members of the central bank are adamant about continuing to fight inflation by raising interest rates.
According to the minutes, the labor market “remained highly tight, adding to ongoing upward pressures on wages and prices” and inflation “remained far over” the Fed’s 2% target.
According to Brent Schutte, chief investment officer of Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, “This is a data-dependent Fed, that focuses less on a projection and more on each particular data point.”
The Federal Reserve will hike rates until there is slack in the labor market, so until new employees enter the job market, we’re likely approaching the conclusion of an economic cycle. Only if more individuals are attracted back into the labor force will we experience a soft landing.
Source (CNBC)
