AIRLINK 175.65 Decreased By ▼ -1.91 (-1.08%)
BOP 11.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.36%)
CNERGY 8.33 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (1.96%)
FCCL 47.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.22 (-0.46%)
FFL 16.02 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-0.62%)
FLYNG 27.02 Decreased By ▼ -0.33 (-1.21%)
HUBC 142.45 Decreased By ▼ -4.46 (-3.04%)
HUMNL 13.37 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.04%)
KEL 4.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.11%)
KOSM 5.91 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
MLCF 61.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.52 (-0.84%)
OGDC 226.31 Decreased By ▼ -8.37 (-3.57%)
PACE 5.80 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
PAEL 44.79 Decreased By ▼ -1.62 (-3.49%)
PIAHCLA 17.93 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-1.05%)
PIBTL 10.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-1.14%)
POWER 12.10 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.92%)
PPL 185.99 Decreased By ▼ -5.81 (-3.03%)
PRL 37.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.19%)
PTC 24.14 Increased By ▲ 0.94 (4.05%)
SEARL 99.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.94 (-0.93%)
SSGC 38.40 Decreased By ▼ -1.31 (-3.3%)
SYM 14.89 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-0.93%)
TELE 7.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.15%)
TPLP 11.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.09%)
TRG 66.00 Decreased By ▼ -1.29 (-1.92%)
WAVESAPP 11.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.35 (-3.08%)
WTL 1.36 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
YOUW 3.82 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (1.33%)
BR100 12,826 Increased By 19.4 (0.15%)
BR30 38,861 Decreased By -842.2 (-2.12%)
KSE100 118,792 Decreased By -146.5 (-0.12%)
KSE30 36,779 Increased By 22.6 (0.06%)

NEW YORK: The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 inched up in choppy trading on Friday ahead of the long weekend, after signs of moderating price pressures strengthened bets for an interest-rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting in September.

The Personal Consumption Expenditure index, the central bank’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 2.5% in July on an annual basis, compared to an estimate of 2.6%, according to economists polled by Reuters. On a monthly basis, it rose 0.2% as expected.

Among rate-sensitive megacaps, Amazon.com and Microsoft added 1.8% and 0.4%, respectively. Chip stocks also rose, with Broadcom climbing 2.3% and Advanced Micro Devices gaining 0.5%, aiding the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index’s 1.5% rise.

Friday’s PCE report is the last one before the Fed’s September meeting and follows Chair Jerome Powell’s comments last week, when he expressed support for an imminent policy adjustment.

Odds of a 25-basis-point reduction stood at 67.5%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, while those of a 50-bps reduction were at 32.5%.

“The data bakes in further that there is going to be a start to the rate-cutting cycle,” said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments.

Martin said investors remain focused on the labor market, with a slew of employment reports scheduled for the coming week.

Global markets are nearing the end of a tumultuous month for riskier assets, after signs of a sudden moderation in the labor market sparked recession fears in the United States in early August. The influence of the Japanese yen carry trade worsened the rout.

Risk-taking has improved since then, with the Dow hovering near record highs, as subsequent data including Thursday’s upward revision to economic growth soothed investor nerves.

At 11:42 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 86.41 points, or 0.21%, at 41,248.64, the S&P 500 was up 6.36 points, or 0.11%, at 5,598.32, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 49.01 points, or 0.28%, at 17,565.44.

Most of the 11 S&P 500 sectors traded flat, but Consumer Discretionary bucked the trend with a 0.7% advance. Energy was the biggest laggard with a 0.6% drop, tracking lower oil prices.

The tech-focused Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed lower on Thursday after Nvidia failed to match sky-high investor expectations, despite upbeat results and a broadly in-line forecast. The AI-chip bellwether was up 0.4% after a 6.4% drop in the previous session.

The benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow are set for monthly gains, while the Nasdaq is on track to end August lower, if losses hold.

Among other stocks, Marvell Technology jumped 7.9% after forecasting third-quarter results above estimates.

Ulta Beauty slid 3.0% after it trimmed its annual results forecasts, while Intel rose 9.2% following a report it was exploring options which could include a merger or a split.

Dell Technologies advanced 3.4% after lifting its annual revenue and profit forecasts.

Trading volumes are expected to thin ahead of the extended weekend due to the Labor Day holiday.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.06-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.16-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 57 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 63 new highs and 51 new lows.

Comments

Comments are closed.