TSLA - Wall Street Eyes Strong Finish To Week As Focus Turns To Fed Chair Powell's Speech: Analyst Tells Why S&P 500 Rally This Year Is 'Perfectly Normal' | Benzinga
U.S. stocks are on track to start higher yet again on Friday as rate-cut optimism continues to prop up investor sentiment. Traders may keep an eye on Capitol Hill, where the House is set to vote on a key funding bill by the Friday deadline to avert a government shutdown.
With the Federal Reserve’s blackout period over, speeches by Fed officials are back in focus. Market participants will likely be glued to their comments for more clarity on the future path of interest rates.
Earnings news has been mixed, potentially neutralizing its impact on the market. The mood across global markets is also mixed following their recent strong performance.
Cues From Previous Session:
The Fed-induced gains from Thursday were sustained as traders digested a string of fairly strong economic data. The Dow Industrials advanced early before consolidating for the rest of the session. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and broader S&P 500 Index gave back some early gains and closed off their highs, sentiment in the tech space was dampened by the pullback in Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares following the antitrust lawsuit. However, some support came from Reddit, Inc.’s (NYSE:RDDT) debut, with its stock rallying over 48% on Thursday.
All three major indices closed at fresh intraday and closing highs. However, the standout performers were small-cap stocks, with the Russell 2,000 Index settling higher by over ...