BackWall Street propped up by tech stocks, financials rise ahead of Fed meet
The focus is on the Federal Reserve, which kicks off its two-day monetary policy meeting amid a host of calls, including from President Donald Trump, to pause its tightening cycle or risk harming the US, or the global economy
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US stocks rebounded on Tuesday after losing about 2 percent in each of the past two days, helped by gains in the technology sector, and a rebound in some bellwether stocks such as Boeing and J&J.
The focus, though, is on the Federal Reserve, which kicks off its two-day monetary policy meeting amid a host of calls, including from President Donald Trump, to pause its tightening cycle or risk harming the U.S., or the global economy.
With a widely expected fourth rate hike for the year on Wednesday, financials – the worst performing S&P sector this month – rose 0.50 percent.
“The Fed meeting tomorrow is very significant and the last hurdle for the year for many investors," said David Page, senior economist at AXA IM in London.
“I think we’re seeing a sort of pause and stabilization as markets wait to see what is going to happen going forward."
The S&P 500 is about 12 percent below its record high, trading in what is called correction territory, and ended Monday at a 14-month low. The benchmark index has struggled to hold onto gains in a particularly volatile December in the backdrop of worries about global growth, rates and the China-U.S. trade war.
Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher. The biggest lift to the market came from the recently beaten-down technology index, which gained 1.47 percent.
A dividend hike and a higher share repurchase program helped Boeing Co snap a three-day losing streak to rise 4 percent. The stock was the biggest boost to Dow Industrials.
Other marquee stocks moving higher included Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc, and Facebook Inc, which rose between 2 percent and 4 percent. They were the biggest boosts to the S&P and the Nasdaq.
At 12:43 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 281.56 points, or 1.19 percent, at 23,874.54, the S&P 500 was up 21.51 points, or 0.84 percent, at 2,567.45 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 79.91 points, or 1.18 percent, at 6,833.65.
Energy <.SPNY>, the second-worst performing sector this month, tumbled another 0.87 percent as oil prices sank after reports of swelling inventories. [O/R]
Stocks making a comeback included Goldman Sachs Group Inc, which rose 2.4 percent to snap a 9-day losing streak related to the 1MDB scandal.
Johnson & Johnson rose 2.4 percent, after a near 13 percent drop over two days on a Reuters report that J&J knew for decades that its Baby Powder contained asbestos.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.50-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.25-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and 42 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 6 new highs and 333 new lows.
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