US stock market: S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs as Powell signals rate cuts ahead

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 130.30 points, or 0.34%, to 38,791.35, while the S&P 500 rallied 52.60 points, or 1.03%, to 5,157.36. The Nasdaq Composite hit an intraday record high and narrowly missed a closing record to end 241.83 points, or 1.51%, higher at 16,273.38.

Gains in US markets came after the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told a US Senate committee that the central bank is “not far” from being confident inflation is declining toward the 2% target, which would make rate cuts possible, Reuters reported.

Read here: US Fed is ‘not far’ from gaining confidence needed to cut interest rates, says Powell

Powell’s comments bolstered investor expectations for a first rate cut in June and boosted equity indexes that had faltered in the days leading up to his Congressional testimonies, which kicked off on Wednesday with an appearance before the US House Financial Services Committee.

Rally in chip companies lifted the Philadelphia Semiconductor index to a record closing high, with the index surging 3.36%, outperforming the broader market, Reuters reported.

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose, with Technology ending up 1.89% followed by communications services with a 1.84% gain, being the biggest gainers.

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Among stocks, Meta shares jumped 3.2% and Nvidia stock price surged 4.5%. Victoria’s Secret & Co shares fell sharply by 29.7%, while Kroger Co shares rallied 9.8%.

On the Nasdaq 2,592 stocks rose and 1,670 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about a 1.55-to-1 ratio.

Meanwhile, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits was unchanged as the labor market continued to ease, Labor Department data showed, Reuters reported.

The private payrolls, job openings, quit rate and unemployment claims data earlier gave investors a picture of a jobs market that was softening but still solid.

On US exchanges 11.19 billion shares changed hands compared with the 12.06 billion moving average for the last 20 sessions.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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Published: 08 Mar 2024, 07:25 AM IST