Wall Street advances as investors eye economic data, Fed comments By Reuters

By Echo Wang

(Reuters) -Wall Street’s main indexes rose in volatile trading on Monday, as investors awaited new economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials for more clarity on monetary policy.

Megacaps Apple (NASDAQ:) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:) rose 2.8% and 1.58% respectively in a rebound from early losses. Artificial intelligence chip leader Nvidia (NASDAQ:) retreated from a record high to add 0.3%.

Other rallying chip stocks helped to send the briefly to an all-time high. Broadcom (NASDAQ:) and U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co were up 5.3% and 3.0% respectively, while Micron Technology (NASDAQ:) rose 4.4% after price-target raises by brokerages.

Technology and consumer discretionary were the biggest gainers among the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, while real estate and utilities led declines.

“There is hope that lower interest rates might come into play looking forward, reducing housing costs and helping consumers out,” said J. Bryant Evans, investment advisor and portfolio manager at Cozad Asset Management in Champaign, Illinois.

Goldman Sachs lifted its 2024 year-end target for the to 5,600 from 5,200, while Evercore ISI raised its forecast for the benchmark index to 6,000 from 4,750.

Both brokerages cited technology strength and enthusiasm for AI as reasons for their upgrades.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit multiple all-time peaks in the previous week.

The Fed will be able to cut its benchmark interest rate once this year, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said on Monday, if his economic forecast plays out.

New York Fed President John Williams and Fed Board Governor Lisa Cook will speak later on Monday.

This week’s economic roster includes May retail sales data on Tuesday, followed by industrial production, housing starts and the S&P flash Purchasing Managers’ Index.

Markets will be closed on Wednesday for the Juneteenth holiday.

The Fed held interest rates steady on Wednesday and pushed out the start of rate cuts to perhaps as late as December.

However, markets still expect about two 25-basis-point cuts this year, LSEG data showed. The CME FedWatch tool shows easing is still seen beginning at the September meeting.

As of 3:20 p.m. ET, the rose 214.04 points, or 0.56%, to 38,804.45. The S&P 500 gained 55.40 points, or 1.02%, at 5,487.07 and the advanced 237.06 points, or 1.34%, to 17,926.01.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:) jumped 7% after a report that activist investor Starboard Value had bought a roughly $500 million stake in the software maker.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.36-to-1 ratio on the NYSE which had 229 new highs and 120 new lows.

The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and six new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 57 new highs and 203 new lows.