Traders work on the floor during morning trading at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 06, 2024 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Stocks rose Thursday, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite back to record highs, as hope over easing inflation and gains in tech aided Wall Street’s midweek bounce.
The broad S&P 500 advanced 1.03% to 5,157.36, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.51% to 16,273.38. Both notched all-time highs during the session, while the S&P 500 also clinched a closing record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 130.30 points, or 0.34%, to close at 38,791.35.
Information technology and communication services stocks led the S&P 500 to that record. Intel was the best performer in the Dow with a gain of more than 3%.
Investor optimism was boosted after the European Central Bank lowered forecasts for annual inflation and growth on Thursday, though the bank also held key interest rates steady. That can be taken as a positive signal on the international inflation front.
The ECB’s announcement comes after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress on Wednesday that he expects interest rates to come down this year. While Powell said that the Fed was not immediately ready to begin cutting, he told the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday that the central bank isn’t far from having the confidence it needs on inflation to start.
“The market was expecting it — and they’re finally hearing it from Fed officials,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, of Powell’s commentary around interest levels. “It just adds to the confidence that rate cuts are coming.”
The S&P 500, 1 year
The S&P 500 was now up 0.4% this week despite the rough start for stocks. The Nasdaq was near flat on the week, while the Dow was still down around 0.8%.
The Nasdaq was helped by a gain of about 4.5% in Nvidia, the artificial intelligence darling whose shares have climbed more than 12% this week. But Apple ended the day slightly lower for its seventh straight losing session.
Investors are awaiting Friday’s U.S. jobs report for insights into the state of the labor market, which has shown resilience despite higher interest rates.
