As of 11:46 AM ET, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +1.57%) is up 1.35% to 26,572 as tech shares recover from earlier pressure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +1.21%) has climbed 1.20% to 53,699, and the S&P 500 (^GSPC +1.16%) is trading 1.01% higher to 7,744 as traders eye falling Treasury yields.
Today’s Change
Index Level
7,755.20
Gold is up 2.34% to $4,489.99, and the 10-Year Treasury yield fell 5 basis points to 4.75%. Industrials lead sector gainers, with financial services and consumer cyclical stocks also seeing significant intraday strength as investors rotate into growth-oriented names.
Today’s biggest moves
Broadcom shares dropped, despite beating analyst expectations in yesterday’s earnings. Snowflake’s Q2 results were a different story: The stock soared over 20% this morning after a blowout quarter. Robinhood Markets gained following analyst upgrades. Nvidia gained on news that it will acquire artificial intelligence (AI) platform Hugging Face.
What this means for investors
Major U.S. indexes gained this morning as markets reassessed the probability of a September rate hike. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he’d lean toward holding rates steady unless there are any major inflation surprises. His stance, which seemed to contrast with Chairman Kevin Warsh’s emphasis on reducing stubborn inflation, reduced some of the pressure on U.S. Treasuries.
Investors will be watching tomorrow’s labor market report and further inflation data due next week closely, as both will impact the Fed committee’s decision when they meet on Sept. 15 and 16. Interest rate decisions can cause short-term headwinds for the stock market, and volatility is likely to increase in the second half of this year. However, unchecked inflation can erode long-term value and do more damage to your portfolio than higher rates.
Emma Newbery has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Broadcom, Nvidia, and Snowflake. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
