US: Stocks mostly up as markets digest earlier rally
WALL Street stocks ended slightly higher on Monday as markets assessed an earlier rally on the back of weaker job growth, easing concerns over further interest rate hikes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1 per cent to finish at 34,095.86.
The broad-based S&P 500 ticked up 0.2 per cent to 4,365.98, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.3 per cent to 13,518.78.
“We just had the biggest week of the year and it’s perfectly normal and healthy to see the market pause and digest that big run we just had,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments.
He added that the market is waiting for its next “bullish catalyst,” be it a Federal Reserve policymaker’s remarks, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments later this week, or business earnings.
The market rally last week came after Labor Department data showed that hiring slowed in October as monthly wage growth cooled.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
The Fed also decided last week to keep interest rates unchanged, which investors took as a sign that the central bank is likely done with rate hikes for now.
“Falling bond yields and the dovish central bank meetings are being interpreted by equity markets as a positive in the near term,” JPMorgan analysts said in a recent note.
While Treasury yields fell last week, they moved higher on Monday.
Sentiment could shift soon with the awareness that the Fed is set to hold rates higher for longer among other factors, JPMorgan analysts added. AFP
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
