S&P 500 poised for new record as Powell back in spotlight
US stocks rose on Thursday, staying upbeat ahead of a second day of closely tracked testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Techs took the lead again with more than 1% gain for the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) futures, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.9% touching record highs during the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.5%, after all three gauges ended the previous session in the green.
Stocks rose as the market assessed Powell’s first day of questioning by lawmakers on the economy and monetary policy, which brought no bad news or surprises. The Fed chief stuck to repeating policymakers’ message that they’re in no hurry to ease policy, though rate cuts are likely to come this year.
On Thursday morning the Fed Chair reiterated the central bank’s intentions, provided inflation data comes in as expected. Investors have turned to the Fed Chair’s testimony for more clarity and further clues on rate-cut timing.
Initial jobless claims released on Thursday came in unchanged at 217,000 for the week ending March 2. Continuing claims registered just above 1.9 million, about 8,000 higher from its prior print.
Updates on consumer credit due later will also feed into their calculations ahead of the crucial monthly jobs report on Friday.
Meanwhile, gold (GC=F) rose for the fifth day, hitting a fresh high above $2,160 as the prospect of a rate cut gave fresh impetus to the record-setting rally.
Among corporates, shares of Victoria’s Secret (VSCO) plunged over 26% after the lingerie maker’s sales guidance fell short of expectations.
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