Wall Street closed sharply higher this Thursday, April 13, since economic data showed a cooling of inflation and a more relaxed job marketfeeding the optimism That the Federal Reserve could be nearing the end of its aggressive rate hike cycle of interest.
All three major stock indices soaredwith interest rate sensitive mega-cap stocks providing the biggest boost and leading the nasdaqwhich has a strong technological weight, at its biggest daily percentage jump in almost a month.
The data published before the start of the session showed a sharper-than-expected cooling in producer prices and new claims for unemployment benefits above consensus.
both figures point to the Fed’s barrage of rate hikes, which began more than a year ago, is working as planned.
The data arrives after the consumer price index report released last Wednesday, which consolidated the probability of another 25 basis point rate increase at the conclusion of next month’s monetary policy meeting.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 53.96 pointsor 1.33%, to 4,145.91 units, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 236.94 pointsor 1.99%, to close at 12,166.27 units. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 382.54 pointsor 1.14%, to 34,029.04 units.
“Markets rallied today (Thursday) on lower inflation data this morning, since it’s still about the Fed, so it’s really about inflation“, said David Carter, investment specialist at JPMorgan Private Bank In New York.
“Along with yesterday’s dovish CPI data, PPI also suggests a slowdown in inflation that could spell a quick end to Fed tightening“, he added.
Financial markets see about a one in three chance that the Fed will pause and allow the target federal funds rate to stay in the range of 4.75% to 5.00%, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Investor focus now shifts to Q1 earnings seasonwhich comes into full swing on Friday when a trio of big banks, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co report their results.
Source: Ambito
I am a 24-year-old writer and journalist who has been working in the news industry for the past two years. I write primarily about market news, so if you’re looking for insights into what’s going on in the stock market or economic indicators, you’ve come to the right place. I also dabble in writing articles on lifestyle trends and pop culture news.
