U.S. Stocks Bounce Back Led by Tech Giants: Market Overview

• Market participants anticipate guidance from Fed representatives, including Powell.
• Temporary halt in U.S. stocks’ downturn as oil rally stabilizes.

U.S. stocks experienced a revival on Thursday, in anticipation of an address by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in the afternoon. Major tech firms like Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Meta Platforms Inc. (META), and Tesla Inc. (TSLA) were instrumental in boosting the Nasdaq 100 by over 1%, despite an initially tumultuous trading morning.

Speculation about a potential shift in the Federal Reserve’s persistent high-rate stance has been fueled by remarks from a dovish official and soft consumer expenditure data. The tech-dominant index is bracing for its poorest month since the previous December, with U.S. interest rates peaking in 22 years. The slide in U.S. Treasuries stabilized preceding Powell’s address. In contrast, UK government bond yields surged, marking the most significant daily ascent in nearly a year.

Oil’s rally took a break, with WTI crude having surpassed $94 a barrel earlier in the week. Both the dollar and gold declined.

Notable events for the week:

• Jerome Powell’s interaction with educators and remarks from Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin on Thursday.
• Economic indicators for the Eurozone, Japan, and U.S. set for release on Friday.
• Speeches by ECB’s Christine Lagarde and New York Fed’s John Williams on Friday. 

Major Market Movements:

Stocks:

• The S&P 500 went up by 0.9% at 12:31 p.m. NY time.
• Nasdaq 100 saw an increase of 1.3%.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6%.
• MSCI World index increased by 0.7%.

Currencies:

• Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined by 0.5%.
• Euro appreciated 0.7% to $1.0573.
• British pound increased by 0.7% to $1.2216.
• Japanese yen saw a rise of 0.3% to 149.20 per dollar.

Cryptocurrencies:

• Bitcoin surged 3.8% to $27,234.54.
• Ether’s value went up by 4.4% to $1,664.64.

Bonds:

• 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield remained stable at 4.61%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield rose by nine basis points to 2.93%.
• UK’s 10-year yield went up by 13 basis points to 4.48%.

Commodities:

• WTI crude dipped by 1.2% to $92.59 per barrel.
• Gold futures declined 0.6% to $1,879.70 an ounce.