Wall Street today: US stocks rise as dollar gains steady ground; S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs | Stock Market News
Source: Live Mint
Wall Street today: US market indices gained on Wednesday, December 4, as traders appear more focused on the potential of lower interest rates and a strong third-quarter result of companies like Salesforce, Eli Lilly, etc. amid the political turmoil in South Korea, and France’s no-confidence vote eyeing to topple the existing government.
The S&P 500 gained 0.38 per cent to 6,072 points, while the Nasdaq Composite rallied nearly 1 per cent to 19,670 points on Wednesday, registering a record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.37 per cent to 44,871 points.
The US treasury yields also rose 0.4 per cent after St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem said he expects the US Federal Reserve to continue cutting interest rates. He also warned that the pace of the future action has grown less clear, reported the news agency Reuters.
South Korea, France Issues
South Korea’s lawmakers called on President Yoon Suk Yeol to resign or face impeachment after he declared martial law late on Tuesday, only to reverse the move hours later.
This incident drove the KOSPI index down 1.4 per cent, pushing its year-to-date losses by more than 7 per cent, as per the agency report. The Korean won buoyed by suspected central bank intervention, steadied but remained close to the two-year low against the dollar.
“Martial law itself has been lifted, but this incident creates more uncertainty in the political landscape and the economy,” Min Joo Kang, ING senior economist told the news agency.
In France, the stocks gained nearly 0.45 per cent, while the Euro traded close to a two-year low ahead of the no-confidence vote in France.
“The general sense is that this vote could be successful,” according to Deutsche Bank analysts cited in the report. “If so, there isn’t an obvious route forward on what happens next.”
In the United States, investors are eyeing more clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy path for next year. The US employment report is due on Friday.
The October data showed that layoffs dropped the most in over a year, suggesting that the US labour market is slowing down. The survey showed that employers were hesitant to hire more workers, as reported by the agency.
The markets are now expecting nearly a 73 per cent chance of a 25 basis points rate cut this month, with 80 basis points cuts expected by the end of next year, reported the agency.
“Our baseline view is that the USD will strengthen in 2025 but face an air pocket of weakness early in the year on continued Fed rate cuts and uncertainty over policy implementation,” Standard Chartered currency strategists noted on Tuesday, according to the report.
Oil prices, US crude fell 0.41 per cent to $69.65 per barrel and Brent crude dropped 0.34 per cent to $73.36 per barrel.
