The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq inched up amid volatile trading, as investors assessed a downward revision in US payrolls data and awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.
A Labor Department report showed an estimate for total payroll employment between April 2023 and March 2024 was lowered by 818,000, a 0.5 per cent drop from what was originally reported for the period, as the central bank gears up to start cutting interest rates in September.
The focus is now on the release of minutes from the Fed’s July policy meeting, expected at 2pm, at which Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a possible interest rate reduction in September.
Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, said he would look for any signs of dissension about easing policy in the Fed minutes.
“We want to see if there was dissension, and will this lead to a definitive cut (next month)?”
The centrepiece event of the week is the Jackson Hole economic symposium on Friday, at which Powell will speak.
Market participants will look for hints in his comments on the pace of monetary policy easing following a batch of mixed economic data recently.
Financial markets are currently pricing in a near 68 per cent likelihood of a 25 basis-points interest rate cut by the Fed in September, with a 32.5 per cent chance of a super-sized 50 bps cut, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
In early trading on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96.43 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 40,931.40, the S&P 500 gained 28.52 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 5,625.64 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 121.8 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 17,938.73.
Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were in gains, with consumer staples among top advancers, helped by Target’s 13 per cent jump after the retailer raised its annual profit forecast.
The blue-chips Dow underperformed, weighed down by rate-sensitive financials stocks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Wall Street’s main indexes closed marginally lower on Tuesday, breaking their recent winning streak.
Risk appetite had returned to global equities last week following sharp declines earlier this month, boosted by the likelihood of rate cuts from the US central bank in September, with all three major US benchmarks now at levels seen before the sell-off.
Among others, TJX Cos rose 5.5 per cent after the off-price retailer lifted its annual profit forecast.
US-listed shares of Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com dropped 6.3 per cent after Reuters reported that Walmart, the company’s biggest shareholder, has sold its entire stake in the firm.
Macy’s lowered its annual net sales forecast, sending the retailer’s shares down 13.6 per cent.
Ford Motor rose 1.1 per cent after the automaker reshuffled its electric vehicle plans.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.73-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a1.98-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 36 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 55 new highs and 35 new lows.