U.S. stocks rose Thursday, boosted by the increased likelihood of a September rate cut as well as a healthy outlook from tech giant Meta Platforms.
At 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 160 points or 0.4%, the S&P 500 rose 21 points or 0.4% and the NASDAQ Composite rose 75 points or 0.4%.
Fed says rate cuts are close, flags inflation progress
The Fed kept interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of a two-day meeting on Wednesday, as widely expected.
But Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged progress in bringing down inflation and cooling the labour market – both factors which set the stage for a potential rate cut in September. Powell explicitly mentioned the possibility of a cut in September, although he noted that it was still contingent on positive data.
The Fed will have some inflation and labour market readings to consider before its September meeting. Markets are almost entirely pricing in a 25 basis point cut in September, according to CME Fedwatch.
Focus is now on upcoming nonfarm payrolls data, due on Friday, for more cues on the labour market, especially after data released earlier Thursday showed that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased to an 11-month high last week.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 249,000 for the week ended July 27, the highest level since August last year.
Tech rallies with Meta upfront; Apple awaited
Technology stocks are in demand following positive earnings from Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), with the Facebook owner reporting stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings and also presenting a robust outlook. Its stock rose over 9%.
The positive earnings helped investors largely look past middling results from Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), which missed estimates. Chip designer Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM) also revealed weak earnings, sending its stock down 10%.
Tech earnings are set to continue with majors Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) set to report on Thursday.
Elsewhere, Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) stock fell 17% after slumping 11% after the drugmaker cut its full-year revenue guidance, citing low EU sales and a competitive vaccine environment in the U.S.
Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) was up 3.7% after trial results showed weight loss drug Zepbound reduces the risk of hospitalization, death and other outcomes for obese adults with a common type of heart failure.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) stock lost around 5% on flagging a revenue hit after the U.S. revoked one of its export licenses for sanctioned Chinese telecom firm Huawei.
Of the 283 S&P 500 companies that have reported second-quarter earnings to date, 78.4% beat expectations, LSEG data showed.
