Zacks Equity Research
3 min read
Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday after a choppy session, maintaining the rally for three consecutive days. Market participants remained hopeful of another possible interest rate cut next month. Economic data came in mixed. All three major stock indexes ended in positive territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) appreciated 1.4% or 664.18 points to close at 47,112.45. Notably, 28 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while two finished in negative territory. At intraday low, the blue-chip index was down nearly 107 points.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 23,025.59, rising 0.7% or 153.59 points on the strong performance of artificial intelligence bigwigs. At intraday low, the tech-laden index was down more than 1%.
The major gainer of the index was Analog Devices Inc. ADI. The stock price of this semiconductor manufacturer climbed 5.3%. Analog Devices currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The S&P 500 gained 0.9% points to finish at 6,765.88. At intraday low, the benchmark was down about 0.7%. Nine out of 11 broad-sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory while two ended in negative territory. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) and the Consumer Discretionary Select SPDR (XLY), climbed 2.3% and 2.1%, respectively.
The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 9.6% to 18.56. A total of 16.68 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 19.78 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 4.05-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 2.59-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
On Nov. 25, Bloomberg reported that White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett has emerged as a key contender for the next Fed Chairman. Hassett’s views are closely associated with President Donald Trump’s desire for more aggressive rate cuts to move toward a low-interest rate regime. CNBC reported citing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that chances are very high that President Trump will announce the name of the next Fed Chair before Christmas.
On Nov. 24, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly and on Nov. 21, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams supported rate cut in December citing weak labor market conditions.
Following these developments, the CME FedWatch currently shows an 85% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut in December. This probability was as low as 42.2% last week.
