S&P 500 posts record close on Monday to cap winning month and quarter
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The S&P 500 rose to a record close on Monday, concluding a winning month and quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 17.15 points, or 0.04%, to 42,330.15. The S&P 500 added 0.42% and closed at 5,762.48. Both indexes closed at records. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.38%, ending at 18,189.17.
Stocksralliedintotheclose,erasinglossesseenafter commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He said Monday that more interest rate decreases couldbeforthcoming, but cautionedthat the central bank did not have a preset path. If the economy moves as expected, he said to expect two rate cuts of a quarter percentage point each this year.
Monday’s action marked the end of a strong but choppy month and quarter for the three major averages.
Markets had a rough start to what is historically the weakest month for the stock market, but rebounded as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a supersized half point.
S&P 500 Closes Lower and Oil Climbs as Middle East Conflict Intensifies
Major stock indexes fell and oil prices climbed after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel.
The S&P 500 fell 0.9, a day after it closed at a record high. Treasury yields also fell. Yields fall as prices rise, and nervous investors often turn to ultra-safe U.S. government debt.
See the day's full market-roundup here
Growth was also in focus as a new quarter got under way, with data this morning on manufacturing and the jobs market. A closely watched gauge of manufacturing held roughly steady in September and was slightly lower than analysts expected.
As of late Tuesday:
Indexes fell. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite all traded lower, with the Nasdaq down 1.5% and the Dow down 0.4%, or 173 points.
Crude oil rose. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 2.6% at $73.56 a barrel
Source:
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/29/stock-market-today-live-updates.html
Photo: CNBC
Photo: The Wall Street Journal
The United States just witnessed its most extreme October heat
An exceptional autumn heat wave, which began in the southwestern United States last week, sent temperatures soaring to 117 degrees in Palm Springs, Calif., on Tuesday matching the highest temperature ever observed in the United States during October.
The high of 117 also matched the record for North America during October, according to weather historian Maximiliano Herrera
Dozens ofotherlocations, includingPhoenixand Death Valley, Calif., set October high temperature records while Las Vegas fell just short.
InSanFrancisco, whichhit 94 degrees, Tuesdaywas the hottest day of the year.
An unusually intense heat dome lodged over the northeast Pacific Ocean and western United States, and abnormally warm water temperatures in the region are key drivers of the historic temperatures.
The heat more typical of July and August comes after the hottest summer on record in many parts of California and the West. Temperatures averaged over the planet have been at or near record levels for the past 15 months as human-caused climate change nudges temperatures higher.
Indexes end lower ahead of US jobs data, Middle East still in focus
U.S. stocks finished lower on Thursday ahead of Friday's monthly U.S. payrolls report and as investors kept a watchful eye on the growing conflict in the Middle East
Data on Thursday showed that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week, while Hurricane Helene and strikes at ports could distort the labor market picture in the near term.
Friday’s jobs report for September is considered key for the outlook for U.S. interest rates. Economists polled by Reuters expect 140,000 job additions, while the unemployment rate is anticipated to stay steady at 4.2%
Investors are eager for more data on the labor market after the Federal Reserve last month cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large 50 basis points, the first reduction in borrowing costs since 2020.
"It looks like investors are cautious ahead of the jobs report tomorrow," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York.
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Photo: The Washington Post
Photo: Reuters
US port workers and operators reach deal to end East Coast strike immediately
U.S. dock workers and port operators reached a tentative deal that will immediately end a crippling threeday strike that has shut down shipping on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast, the two sides said Thursday.
The tentative agreement is for a wage hike of around 62% over six years, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, including a worker on the picket line who heard the announcement. That would raise average wages to about $63 an hour from $39 an hour over the life of the contract.
The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) workers union had been seeking a 77% raise while the employer group - United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) - had previously raised its offer to a nearly 50% hike.
The deal ends the biggest work stoppage of its kind in nearly half a century, which blocked unloading of container ships from Maine to Texas and threatened shortages of everything from bananas to auto parts, triggering a backlog of anchored ships outside major ports.
The union and the port operators said in a statement that they would extend their master contract until Jan. 15, 2025, to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all outstanding issues.
Source:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ship-queue-grows-us-ports-dockworker-strike-enters-third-day-2024-10-03/
Photo: Reuters
