Stocks rose Wednesday after yields briefly fell to their lowest level in two months, and the November market rally broadened into the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 184.74 points, or 0.53%, to 35,273.03. The S&P 500 climbed 0.41% to 4,556.62. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.46% to 14,265.86.
More than half of the stocks trading on the New York Stock Exchange were up Wednesday, indicating widening breadth for the market rally. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also saw greater participation, with 62.9% of the stocks in the index rising. Small- and mid-caps outperformed Wednesday, rising 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the energy sector lost 0.1% Wednesday after OPEC delayed a meeting on production cuts originally scheduled for the weekend. Marathon Oil, EOG Resources and Devon Energy all closed lower.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury briefly fell to 4.369% Wednesday morning, the lowest level since Sep. 22. It later recovered and was last little changed at 4.41%. This also marks a significant drop for 10-year yield after it crossed the 5% mark in October for the first time in 16 years.
On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve signaled in its latest meeting notes that monetary policy will remain restrictive, and gave no indication of cutting interest rates anytime soon. Investors, however, continue to remain optimistic that the central bank will not raise rates at its December meeting, according to fed funds futures trading.
Chipmaker Nvidia reported its latest quarterly results Tuesday after the bell. The company posted fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue that beat expectations, but warned export restrictions on China would weigh on its fiscal fourth quarter. Shares fell 2.5% on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on Tuesday ended a five-day winning streak, as the blistering November rally took a pause. The Dow also closed lower.
The major averages are all still on pace for monthly gains, however. The Nasdaq has rallied 11% in November. The Dow has advanced nearly 7%, and the S&P 500 is up more than 8% during the period.
“I’d probably be leaning more towards the camp at this rally could continue a little bit longer,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management. “A soft landing from the Fed [is] becoming more and more of a possibility as inflation continues to come down. … Against that backdrop, as we head into 2024, I think equities will continue to perform pretty well.”
The New York Stock Exchange is closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday and will close early on Friday.
