NEW YORK: Wall Street advanced on Thursday after recovering from a broad sell-off in the prior session, with latest data adding to expectations that borrowing costs could ease next year, while chipmaker Micron advanced after giving an upbeat forecast.
A Commerce Department report showed the final gross domestic product (GDP) estimate for the third quarter stood at 4.9%, compared with previous estimates of 5.2%.
Separately, a Labor Department report showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week, suggesting underlying strength in the economy as the year winds down.
“We have entered back into what we call a Goldilocks scenario, a situation of rising earnings and falling inflation,” said Steve Chappell, global head of trading systems development for VectorVest.
“So there is a reason to be cautiously optimistic. The fear of missing out has certainly been a part of this rally at this point.” The yield on the benchmark 10-year US treasury note moved lower to 3.8806%, further from multi-year highs it scaled in October.
The three main indexes had ended the previous session lower, with the benchmark S&P 500 notching its worst day since late September, snapping a recent rally sparked by a surprisingly dovish tone by the Federal Reserve.
The benchmark index is nearing its record closing high hit in early 2022 which would confirm the index had been in a bull market since closing at the bear market floor in October 2022.
Despite some push back from Federal Reserve officials, traders still expect an 82.9% chance of at least a 25 basis points rate cut in as early as March next year, and a 100% chance of a rate cut in May, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Meanwhile, Micron Technology forecast quarterly revenue above market estimates, and its shares jumped 7.2% on signs of a memory chip recovery in 2024 after one of the most significant downturns in years.
The Philadelphia SE semiconductor index housing chip stocks advanced 2.3%.
Nine of the 11 S&P 500’s sectors were in the green, with the health sector leading with a 0.8% rise, while the small-caps Russell 2000 index rose 1.2%.
“As people become less fearful about the stock market, these are segments of the market that have been beaten up the most. So that amounts to investors minds as opportunity,” Chappell added on small-cap stocks.
At 12:02 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 139.63 points, or 0.38%, at 37,221.63, the S&P 500 was up 24.91 points, or 0.53%, at 4,723.26, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 107.50 points, or 0.73%, at 14,885.44.
Boeing edged up 0.3% as the planemaker is set to restart deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner to China within days, a source told Reuters.
US electric vehicle makers like Tesla and Lucid Group rose 2.0% and 2.8%, respectively, after a report said the United States was considering tariff hikes on Chinese EV manufacturers.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.19-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.32-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 12 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 47 new highs and 46 new lows.
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