NEW YORK, Aug 25 — Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, lifted by gains in energy stocks and Intuit while investors awaited the US Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole conference this week.
Boosting the tech-heavy Nasdaq, Intuit Inc INTU.Orallied almost 4 per cent after the accounting software maker forecast upbeat fiscal 2023 revenue.
After the bell, Salesforce Inc CRM.N dipped 5.5 per cent following its quarterly report. During the trading session, the business software seller had gained 2.3 per cent.
All 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by energy .SPNY, up 1.2 per cent, followed by a 0.71 per cent gain in real estate .SPLRCR.
The S&P 500 lost ground in the previous three sessions after a summer rally was halted by growing concerns of an aggressive stance by the Fed, an energy crisis in Europe and signs of economic slowdown in China.
Investor are now focused be on the Jackson Hole symposium that begins on Thursday, with remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday potentially providing clues about the pace of future rate hikes and whether the central bank can achieve a “soft landing” for the economy.
“The market is biding its time to get more information on the most important things, which are inflation and the Fed’s rate path,” said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments in Atlanta.
Traders are divided between expecting a 50-basis point hike and a 75-basis point hike by the U.S. central bank.
President Joe Biden said the US government will forgive US$10,000 (RM44,855) in student loans for many debt-saddled college-goers, a move that could boost support for his fellow Democrats in the November congressional elections but also may fuel inflation.
Helped by corporate quarterly results that were not as bad as feared, the S&P 500 .SPX has recovered 13 per cent from its mid-June lows. The benchmark index is set to end the year a little above its current level, according to strategists recently polled by Reuters.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.29 per cent to end the session at 4,140.77 points.
The Nasdaq gained 0.41 per cent to 12,431.53 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.18 per cent to 32,969.23 points.
Peloton Interactive PTON.O surged over 20 per cent after the stationary bike company said it would sell its products on Amazon AMZN.O in a bid to boost sales that have dropped following the end of pandemic lockdowns.
Nordstrom Inc JWN.N tumbled almost 20 per cent after the retailer cut its annual revenue and profit forecasts, a sign that inflation is squeezing consumer spending on its high-end clothing and footwear.
Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 .AD.SPX by a 2.5-to-one ratio.
The S&P 500 posted two new highs and 30 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 42 new highs and 104 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was relatively light, with 8.9 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 10.9 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. — Reuters
