Wall Street today: Dow Jones tops 40,000 mark for first time on Fed rate cut hopes

The Dow Jones crossed the 40,000 mark for the first time on Thursday, a day after inflation data buoyed expectations for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

At 11:28 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 112.55 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 40,020.55, the S&P 500 was up 13.11 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 5,321.26, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 35.67 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 16,778.06. 

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose to record highs after data showed consumer prices eased in April in the US.

ALSO READ: Walmart shares rise over 6% on robust Q1 profit

At 09:54 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.76 points to 39,908.76, the S&P 500 gained 5.07 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 5,313.22 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 20.85 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 16,764.01.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.34 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 39,912.34. The S&P 500 was higher by 1.92 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 5,310.07, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.28 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 16,738.11. 

The yield on the 10-year Treasury was holding steady at 4.35 per cent. The 2-year yield rose to 4.77 per cent from 4.72 per cent late on Wednesday.

Shares of Walmart climbed 6.4 per cent after reporting stronger quarterly profit.

Its online sales in the United States surged 22 per cent, surpassing the 17 per cent growth it posted during the robust holiday season.

The largest US retailer also raised its full-year forecast.

Insurer Chubb rose 5.5 per cent after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway revealed it had built an ownership stake in the company.

Crude oil

Oil prices were steady on Thursday, after signs of stronger demand in the US.

Brent crude futures were up 4 cents, or 0.05 per cent, at $82.79 a barrel by 1120 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) gained 4 cents, or 0.05 per cent, to $78.67. 

Bullion

Gold prices were near a one-month high on Thursday after inflation eased in April in the US.

Spot gold was little changed at $2,384.07 per ounce as of 1155 GMT. US gold futures slipped 0.3 per cent to $2,388.70.

Spot silver fell 0.3 per cent to $29.61 per ounce.