(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
*
Tesla rises 5%
*
Southwest Airlines slips on government scrutiny
*
Indexes up: Dow 0.25%, S&P 0.34%, Nasdaq 0.36%
Dec 28 (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes rose on
Wednesday, boosted by a rebound in growth stocks as U.S.
Treasury yields dipped, with sentiment bolstered by optimism
around China’s moves to reopen its economy.
Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp advanced over
0.6% each as U.S. 10-year Treasury yields slipped to
3.83% from 3.86% on Tuesday .
Among the major S&P 500 sectors, technology and
consumer discretionary gained nearly 0.5% and 1%
respectively, while healthcare shares also were a major
boost to the benchmark index.
Tesla Inc rose 5.3%, after hitting its lowest level
in more than two years in the previous session over demand
worries in China. Still, the stock is down 67% for the year.
Energy stocks bucked the trend as oil prices slipped
on concerns about a surge in COVID-19 cases in top oil importer
China.
Beijing began dismantling its strict COVID curbs this month
in an abrupt policy U-turn and on Monday announced it would drop
its quarantine rule for inbound travelers from next month.
Markets initially cheered the move on hopes it would spur a
rebound in COVID-hammered Chinese economy, but a jump in
infections has fanned fresh worries.
“What people are underestimating is the fact that the second
largest economy in the world is now reopening and all that
economic activity is going to benefit the U.S.,” said Thomas
Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital LLC in New York.
“The speed at which they have reversed their stance has
caught people off guard. People are skeptical because the last
two years have been such a debacle in China.”
As markets enter the last leg of a grueling year for
equities on fears of a recession from the fastest pace of rate
hikes by the Federal Reserve since the early 1980s, focus has
shifted to 2023 and the outlook for corporate earnings.
The benchmark S&P 500 is down 19% year-to-date and
set for its biggest annual loss since the financial crisis of
2008. The rout has been more severe for the tech-heavy Nasdaq
Composite, down 34% for the same period.
Both indexes ended lower on Tuesday at the beginning of a
holiday-shortened week as growth stocks bore the brunt of
investor angst over how long the Fed would continue to raise
interest rates to tame high prices.
While recent data pointing to an easing of inflationary
pressures has bolstered hopes of smaller rate hikes, a tight
labor market and a resilient American economy have spurred
worries that rates could stay higher for longer.
Markets are now pricing in 69% odds of a 25-basis point rate
hike at the U.S. central bank’s February meeting and see rates
peaking at 4.94% in the first half of next year..
At 9:46 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was
up 84.40 points, or 0.25%, at 33,325.96, the S&P 500 was
up 13.16 points, or 0.34%, at 3,842.41, and the Nasdaq Composite
was up 37.18 points, or 0.36%, at 10,390.41.
Southwest Airlines Co slipped 2.5% as the carrier
came under fire from the U.S. government on Tuesday after it
canceled thousands of flights.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.72-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and 1.79-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded seven new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 26 new highs and 170 new lows.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru;
Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
Kacey Musgraves has shared her latest single ‘Too Good To Be True’ and has announced details of a 2024 UK, European and US tour. READ MORE: Kacey Musgrave
'Defence is not escalation': Estonian PM urges West to stand up to Russian intimidation
A Leopard 1 A5 combat tank of the German Bundeswehr armed forces fires during a military exercise at the Klietz military trainin
A green energy expert has warned that The West needs to "wake up" to the threat of China dumping cheap electric vehicles into our markets and destroying jobs. I