US stocks climb as megacaps lead; inflation data, earnings on deck
inflation reports and major bank earnings later in the week.
Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Nvidia were the biggest boosts to the S&P 500 index, as the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield held near 4%and a $37 billion auction of the notes drew above-average demand.
Communication services was the best performing of the 11 major S&P sectors, lifted by a 3.65% rise in Meta Platforms' stock, which hit its highest intraday level since September 2021, after Mizuho
raised its price target
to $470 from $400.
Nvidia hit a record high and closed up 2.28% after fellow chipmaker TSMC beat fourth-quarter revenue expectations.
After ending 2023 with a strong rally, stocks have struggled to find upward momentum, with the S&P 500 barely positive on the year, as mixed economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials have led investors to dial back expectations for the timing and size of any rate cuts from the central bank this year. But Wednesday's gains left the index just 0.27% away from its record close of 4,796.56 set on Jan.
3, 2022.
«What the market is doing, it's reassessing its 2024 expectations in terms of earnings and in terms of interest rates, and really looking to justify the surge in prices that we saw in November and December,» said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York.
«It's sort of a good sign that the market is treading water early in the year because it implies that investors really don't want to miss out on anything else that could be good.»
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 170.57 points, or 0.45%, to 37,695.73. The S&P 500 gained 26.95 points, or 0.57 %, at 4,783.45 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 111.94 points, or 0.75 %, to 14,969.65.
The focus will turn to
