- Stocks rose on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing at an all-time high above 5,500.
- Dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell helped boost stock prices.
- Meanwhile, Tesla shares rose 10% after second-quarter deliveries beat expectations.
US stocks surged on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 hitting an all-time high, following reassuring comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The benchmark index closed above 5,500 for the first time. Bond yields fell. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 4 basis points to 4.432%.
“We have made substantial progress in bringing inflation down to our objective,” Powell acknowledged at a central bank forum in Portugal.
But he reiterated the need for more confidence that inflation will return to the Fed’s 2% target.
The dovish comments came alongside softening jobs data: Tuesday’s JOLTS report showed 8.14 million job openings in May, putting the job openings-to-unemployed ratio in line with pre-pandemic readings.
“We’re seeing signs of a cooling in the labor market, which is leading to fewer higher-paying job openings across the board,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial. “As long as the job market remains stable, a soft landing scenario seems plausible as consumers have some spending capacity.”
Investors were hoping for a gradual softening in the jobs data, which would give the Fed more room to cut interest rates.
Despite Powell’s comments, there has been little change in policy expectations in futures markets, with investors still pricing in rate cuts to begin in November.
Electric car maker Tesla Inc. said its second-quarter deliveries beat expectations, helping lift the S&P 500 in trading. Shares jumped 10% on Tuesday.
The company said it delivered 442,956 vehicles in the second quarter, down 4.8 percent from a year ago but beating analysts’ expectations of 439,000.
Nvidia, meanwhile, fell 1.3%, continuing a slump in its shares that began last month shortly after the company briefly claimed the title of the world’s most valuable company.
As of the close of trading at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, U.S. stock indexes were as follows:
What else is happening today:
Commodities, Bonds and Cryptocurrencies:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.5% to $82.96 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent crude was down 0.24% to $86.39 a barrel.
- Gold was little changed at $2,330.49 per ounce.
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell 4 basis points to 4.432%.
- Bitcoin fell about 2% to $61,884.
