NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes rose again Tuesday, setting another record after another period of quiet trading.
The S&P 500 rose 13.28 points, or 0.3%, to 5,321.41, surpassing its all-time high set last week. The Nasdaq Composite rose 37.75, or 0.2%, to 16,832.62, the day after hitting a new all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose $66.22, or 0.2%, to $39,872.99, just below last week’s high.
In the index reached a record These days, it is based mainly on the expectation that the Federal Reserve will: lower interest rates Inflation is expected to ease later this year, and a growing number of reports showing big U.S. companies posting better-than-expected profits have also boosted the market.
Macy’s The company’s stock rose 5.1% after some early volatility, joining a chorus of companies whose profits beat analysts’ expectations for the most recent quarter. The company, which also operates Bloomingdale’s in addition to its namesake store, raised the lower bounds on its future sales and profit forecasts.
Lam Research, a supplier to the semiconductor industry, also supported the market by announcing a stock buyback plan worth up to $10 billion. The company said it plans to split its stock into 10 shares and lower the price of each share to make it more affordable to more investors. The company’s stock rose 2.3%.
This offset a 3.7% decline in Palo Alto Networks. The cybersecurity company submitted a better-than-expected earnings report, but it also laid out a range of revenue estimates for the current quarter, with the midpoint slightly below analysts’ expectations.
Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Donald Trump’s “Truth” social network, fell 8.7% after announcing a net loss of $327.6 million. first quarterly report As a listed company.
Lowe’s fell 1.9% despite reporting better latest quarterly results than analysts had feared. It said it was maintaining its sales forecast for this year, including a decline of up to 3% in key underlying sales as high interest rates constrain customer activity.
Interest rates on mortgages, credit cards and other payments are rising as the Federal Reserve keeps its key interest rate at its highest in more than 20 years. The government is trying to walk a tightrope between squeezing the economy with interest rates high enough to quell high inflation, but not so high as to trigger a painful recession.
In an encouraging report released last week, Inflation may finally bounce back A move in the right direction after a gloomy start to the year has raised hopes that such a “soft landing” for the economy may be possible. There were also growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) would cut its key interest rates once or twice this year.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said in a speech on Tuesday that he expects economic data to moderate following recently released weaker-than-expected reports on U.S. retail sales and strength in the U.S. service sector, which in turn will put downward pressure on inflation.
But he said that unless the labor market weakens significantly by then, “we would need to see good inflation data for a few more months before we feel comfortable supporting an accommodative monetary policy stance.”
Expectations of future interest rate cuts led to lower U.S. Treasury yields, easing pressure on the stock market. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 4.41% from 4.48% late Monday. The yield on the two-year Treasury note, which more accurately reflects expectations for Fed policy, fell to 4.83% from 4.85%.
There haven’t been many strong economic reports this week, and the biggest potential for a market rally will be upcoming earnings reports.
This week’s headliners are Nvidia, the stock soared We are in the midst of a frenzy surrounding artificial intelligence technology. The company is scheduled to release its latest quarterly results on Wednesday, and expectations are high.
Target reported Thursday, followed by Ross Stores on Wednesday, which could provide more details on how U.S. household spending is holding up. With inflation still high, pressure is building on them, and they appear to be the ones feeling the most pressure. Low-income customers.
In overseas stock markets, indexes fell in most of Europe and Asia.
Stocks fell 2.1% in Hong Kong and 0.4% in Shanghai after S&P Global Market Intelligence raised its forecast for China’s economic growth rate this year to 4.8% from 4.7% in April. , emphasized that he was not overly optimistic.
“The overall outlook for a gradual economic recovery remains unchanged, with economic expansion supported by stronger policy stimulus, stronger external demand and gradually improving private sector confidence,” the ministry said in a report. .
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AP Business writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
