US: Stocks extend recent rally into December trading

WALL Street stocks jumped on Friday (Dec 1), extending a recent run of good news into December and pushing the broad-based S&P 500 index to its highest level this year.

Traders were digesting comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who said Friday that it is still “premature” to speculate on when the central bank will start cutting interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 per cent to 36,245.50, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index finished the day up 0.6 per cent at 14,305.03.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent to 4,594.63 – its highest level since March 2022.

Despite Powell’s comments, “the continued expectation is that the Fed has finished raising rates,” CFRA chief investment strategist Sam Stovall told AFP.

He added that Wall Street now expects the Fed will start cutting its key lending rate “in the end of the first quarter” next year.

SEE ALSO

Europe: Stocks extend US$1.2 trillion rally as mining shares soar

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Asia: Markets struggle even as US data fuels rate cut talk

Singapore stocks end higher amid mixed regional trading; STI up 0.6%

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Among individual stocks, the media company Paramount saw its share price rise 9.8 per cent after the Wall Street Journal reported it was in talks with Apple to bundle streaming services.

Cosmetics company Ulta Beauty saw its shares rise 10.8 per cent after reporting positive earnings results. AFP