Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 22, 2022. Portal/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
- China cuts interest rates as economic data disappoints
- Growth exceeds value
- Walmart will share ahead of Tuesday’s results
- Indices up: Dow 0.5%, S&P 500 0.4%, Nasdaq 0.5%
NEW YORK, Aug 15 (Portal) – US stocks traded higher in afternoon trade on Monday, contributing to recent strong gains, with megacap growth stocks edging higher as US Treasury yields eased.
Shares of Apple Inc (AAPL.O) up 0.5% and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) also up 0.5% were among the biggest risers for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
Government bond yields were slightly lower, while the People’s Bank of China surprisingly cut interest rates to stimulate demand after the economy slowed unexpectedly in July. Continue reading
Stocks extended gains from last week as signs that inflation may have peaked in July boosted investor confidence that a bull market may be underway.
Some investors are also increasingly convinced that the economy can avoid a severe downturn even if it can cope with high inflation.
“We’re back to growth that does well relative to value and market participants are looking at the (Federal Reserve) and saying, ‘Hey, they’re going to cut rates here sooner than we know and that’s going to be good for the stock market'” , said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Investment Management in Chicago.
Higher interest rates can depress stock multiples, particularly technology and other growth stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) was up 152.89 points, or 0.45%, to 33,913.94, the S&P 500 (.SPX) was up 15.65 points, or 0.37%, to 4,295.8 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) is up 65.58 points, down 0.5% to 13,112.76.
The S&P Value Index (.IVX) was up 0.3%, while the Growth Index (.IGX) was up 0.5%.
Earnings reports from major retailers are expected this week and will round out the second quarter reporting period. Walmart Inc (WMT.N) earnings are due Tuesday. Read more Walmart stock rose 0.3%.
US-listed shares of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd fell 0.9%.
Rising issues predominated on the NYSE at a 1.03 to 1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, a 1.20 to 1 ratio favored movers.
The S&P 500 posted 7 new 52-week highs and 29 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite posted 67 new highs and 25 new lows.
Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York Additional reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar, Susan Mathew and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru Editing by Arun Koyyur and Matthew Lewis
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