Dow Jones and S&P 500 hit fresh highs after Fed minutes
The news: Wall Street’s Dow Jones & S&P 500 closed at fresh highs as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting indicated more rate cuts, with investors also awaiting September inflation data and third-quarter earnings reports.
The numbers: Among the main indices: the Dow Jones rose 1.03%, the S&P 500 gained 0.71%, while the Nasdaq added 0.60%. Most of the 11 S&P sectors ended higher.
The context: US stocks added to gains after the Fed meeting minutes showed a “substantial majority” of officials supported beginning an era of easier monetary policy with an outsized half-point rate cut. However, there appeared broader agreement that the initial move would not commit the Fed to any particular pace of rate reductions in the future.
Trading has been choppy this week, with investors adjusting rate-cut expectations after a surprisingly strong September jobs report suggested a US economy that is in better shape than investors had feared.
Shares in market heavyweight Alphabet fell after the US Department of Justice said it may ask a judge to force Google to divest parts of its business, including its Chrome web browser and its Android operating system, to curtail its search monopoly. That cast a shadow on communications services sector stocks.
Among other prominent stocks, Boeing shares fell after talks between the company and its key manufacturing union broke down.
Among gainers, shares of Norwegian Cruise Line outperformed the broader market sharply after Citi upgraded its rating to “buy.” Its peers Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruises also rose. Shares of Arcadium Lithium soared 31% after Rio Tinto said it would acquire the miner for $9.9 billion.
US-listed shares of Chinese firms dropped as investors continued to question if China would announce new stimulus measures. Shares in Alibaba Group and PDD Holdings declined.