S&P 500 Tops 5,600 Mark in Longest Rally This Year: Markets Wrap
- Powell does little to alter Wall Street bets on Fed rate cuts
- Traders also getting ready for Thursday’s key inflation data
A rally in the world’s largest technology companies sent stocks to all-time highs, with Jerome Powell’s remarks to Congress not doing much to dissuade traders from betting on Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.
For the first time in its history, the S&P 500 topped 5,600. A renewed bid for megacaps drove the US equity benchmark to its longest rally since November, with Nvidia Corp. up over 2.5% and Apple Inc. climbing on news it aims to ship 10% more new iPhones after a bumpy 2023. Treasuries remained fairly stable after a strong $39 billion sale of 10-year bonds. Swaps are pricing in two Fed cuts in 2024 — and higher chances the first comes in September.