Stocks rose broadly in morning trading on Wall Street as investors welcomed signals that a standoff in Congress over the federal debt ceiling is closer to a resolution.
The S&P 500 rose 1.4% as of 10:16 a.m. Eastern. Roughly 95% of stocks within the benchmark index gained ground. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 514 points, or 1.5%, to 34,930 and the Nasdaq rose 1.6%.
Markets in Europe and Asia were also broadly higher.
The market snapped out of a days-long bout of volatility late Wednesday after Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell made an offer that would allow an emergency extension of the debt ceiling into December.
The debt ceiling caps the amount of money the federal government can borrow and it needed to be raised by Oct. 18. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had warned that the the nation would likely face a financial crisis and economic recession if Congress failed to do so.
The debt ceiling debate and the potential for an unprecedented federal default is one of many concerns weighing on the market. Those worries sent the benchmark S&P 500 swinging between daily gains and losses of more than 1% for four days.
Investors received another encouraging piece of news on Thursday after the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week for the first time in four weeks. The labor market has been struggling to recover from the pandemic's initial impact 18 months ago when lockdowns from COVID-19 gutted jobs.
Wall Street will get another snapshot Friday of the job market and its recovery when the Labor Department releases its employment report for September.
Inflation remains a key concern for Wall Street and investors are closely watching the Federal Reserve for any shift in its timetable for raising interest rates. The Fed’s policymaking committee recently signaled the central bank could start raising rates late next year. Analysts have said that the Fed could act sooner than expected if high inflation persists.
Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.55% from 1.52% late Wednesday.
COVID-19 continues to hamper the economic recovery following a surge of cases over the summer. Consumer spending and job growth was stunted and supply chain problems crimped operations in a wide range of industries.
More positive news on fighting off future spikes of the virus came from Pfizer on Thursday. It asked U.S. regulators to allow use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11. The drug developer's stock rose 1.9%.
U.S. stocks closed Thursday at their lowest levels of the trading day, as investors continue to eye inflation ahead of the May CPI report out Friday. Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist for National Holdings, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Creating a brand is one of the most important steps in building a business. It can help set you apart from the competition and tells customers what your values are, but many companies don't know how to brand themselves effectively. Tiana Von Johnson, CEO & Chief Brand Strategist of TVJ World, gives expert tips on the do’s and don’ts of branding.
Housing affordability has collapsed to its lowest level on record over the last year. According to the national association of realtors, affordability has dropped by 29%, thanks to surging home prices and mortgage rates. Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist of First American, breaks down the housing market, and when buyers can expect prices to finally drop.
U.S. markets opened sharply lower on Friday on hotter-than-expected inflation data. The May CPI showed an 8.6% jump in consumer prices year-over-year, higher the expected 8.3%. Mark Howard, Senior Multi-Asset Specialist at BNP Paribas joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
U.S. stocks closed Friday at session lows after May CPI data showed inflation in the U.S. has not peaked and is still rising rapidly. For the week, the S&P fell 5.06%, the Dow lost 4.58%, and the Nasdaq dropped 5.60%, marking the worst week since January for all three major indexes. Mike Zigmont, Head of Trading and Research at Harvest Volatility Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Residents often have to wait on federal assistance after a disaster, but one group has a solution: hiring community members to help clean up and improve their neighborhoods. Resilience Force tackles two problems at once by creating jobs in response to growing climate-related disasters. LaTanja Silvester, director of New Orleans programming for Resilience Force, joins Closing Bell to discuss how the organization creates jobs in communities that need help and higher employment, the importance of creating a "green" workforce, and more.
Benefits brokerage, Nava Benefits, raised $40 million in a Series B round. Nava says it's on a mission to fix healthcare, one benefits plan at a time. The startup is working to bring benefits to small business that are normally available to only Fortune 500 companies. Brandon Weber, Co-Founder and CEO of Nava Benefits, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Yung Lim, CEO and Fixed Income Strategist at FolioBeyond, joined Closing Bell to discuss the May CPI report, as inflation is still red-hot going into a key decision from the Federal Reserve about interest rates.
Auction house Christie's will be presenting "Legacy of the GOAT," which will include a rare Michael Jordan signed rookie card and sneakers. Caitlin Donovan, the vice president of Christie's handbags and accessories department. joined Cheddar News to discuss the special memorabilia selection for the NBA great. "He's been a global phenomenon, so he's really shaped '90s culture and streetwear culture," she said. "And we see bidders from every pocket in the world."
