Nasdaq rises 1%; traders keep rate-cut bets, Oracle jumps
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, led by a more than 1% gain in the Nasdaq, as slightly hotter-than-expected consumer price data failed to dampen investor hopes of interest rate cuts in the coming months and as Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) shares surged to a record.
Shares of Oracle were up 11.8% in afternoon trading, a day after it reported upbeat quarterly results and said it is set to make a joint announcement with chip-giant Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).
Nvidia shares rose 5.3%, and an index of semiconductors was up more than 1% and set to snap a two-day losing streak.
The Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4% last month after climbing 0.3% in January. Excluding volatile food and energy components, consumer prices increased 0.4% in February after rising by the same margin in January.
«Investors have gotten comfortable with the notion that it's not about when the Fed will lower rates but rather by how much, and a delay — whether it happens in May like many were initially hoping or in September — ultimately doesn't matter,» said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president and advisor for Wealthspire Advisors in Westport, Connecticut.
«It's that they will and that a less restrictive environment is coming.»
«In the meantime, if you look at economic data, it continues to be pretty strong,» Pursche added. «And from my perspective as a consumer, employee and investor, I'd rather have a strong economy and slightly elevated interest rates than a weak economy that requires stimulus.»
Traders now see a 70% chance of the first rate cut coming in June, the CME FedWatch Tool showed, versus 71% ahead of the inflation report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 221.08 points, or
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