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U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday after the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting new all-time closing highs. Investors shook off geopolitical concerns and rushed to buy tech stocks. All three major indexes ended in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) jumped 1% or 431.63 points, to end at 42,512 points, to hit a new all-time high after registering a record close on Friday.
The S&P 500 gained 0.7% or 40.91 points, to close at 5,792.04 points, hitting a new all-time high. This is the index’s 44th all-time high close this year. Tech, healthcare and financial stocks were the best performers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) rose 1.1%. The Healthcare Select Sector SPDR (XLV) added 1%, while the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) gained 0.9%. Ten of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.6% or 108.70 points to finish at 18,291.62 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 2.61% to 20.86. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.31-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.02-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues. A total of 11.09 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 12.04 billion.
Tech Stocks Rally, Minutes of Fed Meeting Raise Hope
Stocks rallied on Wednesday after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting were released. The minutes revealed that a “substantial majority” of officials were in favor of a large interest rate cut. However, it was more widely agreed that this action wouldn't obligate the central bank to follow any specific timeline for future rate cuts.
Most market participants had expected the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in September. However, officials announced a 50-basis-point cut instead.
Wednesday’s rally came despite growing concerns of a broader war in the Middle East involving Iran and Israel. Also, China Shenzhen witnessed its worst day since 1997 as investors took profits from the recent stimulus-driven rally.
Investors are now looking forward to quarterly reports from a batch of big banks as markets gear up for the quarterly earnings season. The earnings season begins on Friday with JPMorgan Chase & Co. ((JPM - Free Report) ) and Wells Fargo & Company ((WFC - Free Report) ) set to report their quarterly results.
Also, investors are looking forward to the key consumer price index and producer price index data, scheduled for release on Thursday and Friday.
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Stock Market News for Oct 10, 2024
U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday after the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting new all-time closing highs. Investors shook off geopolitical concerns and rushed to buy tech stocks. All three major indexes ended in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) jumped 1% or 431.63 points, to end at 42,512 points, to hit a new all-time high after registering a record close on Friday.
The S&P 500 gained 0.7% or 40.91 points, to close at 5,792.04 points, hitting a new all-time high. This is the index’s 44th all-time high close this year. Tech, healthcare and financial stocks were the best performers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) rose 1.1%. The Healthcare Select Sector SPDR (XLV) added 1%, while the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) gained 0.9%. Ten of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.6% or 108.70 points to finish at 18,291.62 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 2.61% to 20.86. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.31-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.02-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues. A total of 11.09 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 12.04 billion.
Tech Stocks Rally, Minutes of Fed Meeting Raise Hope
Stocks rallied on Wednesday after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting were released. The minutes revealed that a “substantial majority” of officials were in favor of a large interest rate cut. However, it was more widely agreed that this action wouldn't obligate the central bank to follow any specific timeline for future rate cuts.
Most market participants had expected the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in September. However, officials announced a 50-basis-point cut instead.
Wednesday’s rally was largely driven by tech stocks, which have been performing well since last year. Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. ((AMZN - Free Report) ) closed 1.3% higher, while Apple Inc. ((AAPL - Free Report) ) rose 1.7%. Apple has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Wednesday’s rally came despite growing concerns of a broader war in the Middle East involving Iran and Israel. Also, China Shenzhen witnessed its worst day since 1997 as investors took profits from the recent stimulus-driven rally.
Investors are now looking forward to quarterly reports from a batch of big banks as markets gear up for the quarterly earnings season. The earnings season begins on Friday with JPMorgan Chase & Co. ((JPM - Free Report) ) and Wells Fargo & Company ((WFC - Free Report) ) set to report their quarterly results.
Also, investors are looking forward to the key consumer price index and producer price index data, scheduled for release on Thursday and Friday.