Tech leads stock gains; treasuries, dollar climb
BNN Bloomberg
With the Federal Reserve decision out of the way, investors’ attention has turned back to corporate earnings and Friday’s jobs report.
With the Federal Reserve decision out of the way, investors’ attention has turned back to corporate earnings and Friday’s jobs report.
The S&P 500 rose for a sixth straight day. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed after Qualcomm Inc., the world’s largest smartphone chipmaker, gave a stronger-than-expected outlook, adding to signs that the industry crunch is easing. Moderna Inc. jolted the market with sales and earnings that missed analysts’ estimates as it lowered its forecast for 2021 COVID-19 vaccine sales. Both Treasuries and the dollar advanced.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced a start to a reduction in bond purchases Wednesday, but said officials can be patient on raising rates. Applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell week to the lowest since March 2020. The data precede Friday’s monthly employment report, which is forecast to show nonfarm payrolls rose by 450,000 in October.
“There’s nothing that I heard yesterday from the Federal Reserve that would change our thinking,” Steve Chiavarone, portfolio manager at Federated Hermes told Bloomberg TV and Radio’s Surveillance. “You still have an environment where it’s risk-on for the time being.”
The calm market reaction to the Fed’s taper announcement could well be the eye of a storm as traders refuse to back down from betting that central bankers are too complacent about the threat of out-of-control inflation. Demand strengthened for downside eurodollar hedges -- a signal investors are eager for protection against more aggressive bets on further rate hikes.
Some other corporate highlights:
