Bourse

Bourse

Stocks edge higher with Fed hopes still in play

06 November 2023 22:39 (UTC +04:00)

The S&P 500 fell on Monday as Wall Street struggled to maintain its momentum from last week’s strong rally, APA reports citing CNBC.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 19 points, or less than 0.1%.

Stocks are coming off their best week of 2023. The Dow Jones ended last week up by 5.1% for its biggest weekly advance since October 2022. The S&P advanced 5.9% in that time, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 6.6%. It was the best week since November 2022 for both indexes. A soft monthly jobs report also drove bond yields lower, giving a boost to equities.

November is the best-performing month for the S&P 500, according to the Stock Traders’ Almanac. LPL Financial’s Adam Turnquist noted that it also kicks off the best six-month return period for the market since 1950. The S&P has generated an average return of 7% from November through April since then, he said.

Earnings season is winding down, with more than 400 S&P companies having already reported quarterly financial results. Investors this week await updates from Walt Disney, Wynn and MGM Resorts, Occidental Petroleum and D.R. Horton.

Traders will also be watching Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is scheduled to speak twice in the coming days. Last week, the central bank kept rates unchanged for a second straight meeting as bond yields tumbled. Investors are hoping the Fed’s rate-hiking campaign may be nearing an end.