US: Stocks bounce as ‘oversold’ market rallies

WALL Street stocks bounced on Thursday in a round of bargain-hunting after a recent selloff, in spite of worries over tightening monetary policy.

Shaking off early weakness following eurozone inflation data, US equities forged higher in one of the most upbeat sessions in weeks.

“The market was just primed to bounce after steady selling in February and early March,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

He added that the rally was supported by the ability of the S&P 500 to hold above a key technical level, and comments from Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic favouring a quarter-point interest rate hike at the central bank’s next meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.1 per cent at 33,003.57.

The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.8 per cent to 3,981.35, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index advanced 0.7 per cent to 11,462.98.

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The gains came despite another rise in the 10-year US Treasury note following eurozone inflation data.

Inflation in the eurozone came in at 8.5 per cent in February, according to official figures.

This was above expectations and prompted European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde to caution that additional interest rate hikes may be needed.

Among individual companies, Salesforce surged 11.5 per cent as the technology giant announced it was boosting its share repurchase program to US$20 billion, after better-than-expected results.

Tesla slumped 5.9 per cent after the company’s investor day offered few clues on the timing or design of future vehicles.

Analysts had been hoping for an auto priced at around US$25,000 to compete with upcoming products from other automakers.

Retailer Best Buy dropped 2.1 per cent as it reported a 9.3 per cent drop in comparable sales in the fourth quarter, while cautioning that the macro backdrop remains “pressured.” AFP