NEW YORK – Wall Street’s benchmarks ended higher on Oct 8, recouping some of the previous session’s losses, as investors bought back in to technology stocks and investors shifted their focus to upcoming inflation data and the start of third-quarter earnings season.
All three of the main indexes suffered a sell-off on Oct 7, falling roughly 1 per cent each, as they were pressured by surging Treasury yields, escalating Middle East tensions, and a re-evaluation of US rate expectations.
The easing of Treasury yields somewhat on Oct 8, however, meant investors were drawn to high-growth stocks, which benefit from lower debt costs to fuel their growth, such as technology companies.
The information technology index led the gainers among the S&P 500 sectors. It was aided by advances by Palantir Technologies and Palo Alto Networks.
Heavyweight tech names were also buoyant, helping to push the Nasdaq to the highest percentage gain of the three main benchmarks.
Nvidia was the pick of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks, but there were also gains for Apple, Tesla and Meta Platforms.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 54.75 points, or 0.96 per cent, to end at 5,750.69 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 255.06 points, or 1.42 per cent, to 18,178.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 121.08 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 42,075.32.
While the abatement of rising Treasury yields helped tech stocks, it is still interest rate policy that is guiding traders and the US equity markets.
Investors have been locked in all year on the US Federal Reserve and how it plans to deliver its long-expected bout of interest rate cuts, with each new economic data set studied for how it could influence the thinking of the central bank.
Last week’s data releases, including Friday’s stronger-than-expected jobs report,