Today’s session ended with a rise Wall Street with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 hitting new all-time highs, a day after the Fed decided to cut interest rates by 50 basis points.
THE Dow strengthened by 1.26% or 522.09 points, surpassing 42,000 points for the first time and closing at 42,025.19 points. The S&P 500 gained 1.7%, breaking the 5,700-point barrier and closing at 5,713.64 points. The Nasdaq strengthened by 2.51% closing at 18,013.98 units.
For the S&P 500, it’s the 39th record high this year, posting a year-to-date gain of 20%.
Investors are starting to feel convinced that the Fed has achieved a soft landing for the US economy as claims for new unemployment benefits fell by 12,000 to a smaller-than-expected 219,000.
Tech stocks rose, with Nvidia and AMD shares rising 4% and 6%, respectively. Micron Technology strengthened 2.2%. Other major tech companies, including Meta Platforms and Alphabet, rose 3.9% and 1.5%, respectively.
Banking giant JPMorgan Chase also rose 1.4%, while industrial heavyweights Caterpillar and Home Depot gained 5.1% and 1.7%, respectively.
“Today’s rally was not a surprise,” said Timothy Chubb, chief investment officer at Girard Advisory Services. “Stocks have continued to rally in recent weeks, but there are certainly a number of other companies that could benefit from looser monetary policy, especially small-caps,” he added.