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. markets opened lower as disappointing Meta earnings dragged down the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Today, investors will be watching for Amazon's Q4 earnings report set for release after the market close. Greg Swenson, Founding Partner, Brigg Macadam joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Johan Grahn, Head of ETF Strategy at Allianz Investment Management, breaks down the major risks to the markets including how the FED may react to upcoming CPI data.
Markets opened mostly higher led by gains in the tech sector on strong Q4 earnings. It comes after a tumultuous January which saw stocks suffer one of their worst months since the early days of the pandemic. Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer, Wealth Consulting Group joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss early market activity.
Adam Coons, Portfolio Manager at Winthrop Capital Management, talks about the last jobs data, and breaks down the future of social media and tech platforms.
Women's health company Organon will give its over 9,000 employees a paid day off on International Women's Day.
The move comes as the company aims to recognize the growing health inequities women have faced during the Covid-19 pandemic. Kevin Ali, Chief Executive Officer, Organon joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
CLMBR is hoping to become the next big thing in connected fitness. The brand offers a high intensity, low impact workout with on-demand, instructor-led classes. Avrum Elmakis, CLMBR's CEO and founder, joined Cheddar to discuss where the company is heading next.
Peloton is reportedly drawing interest from multiple suitors. According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon is considering acquiring the exercise bike company as it looks to expand into the health and wellness technology industry. Hatem Dhiab, managing partner at Gerber Kawasaki, joined Cheddar to discuss Peloton's future and which company might be its best bet as a buyer.
Amazon shares jumped north of 13 percent in after-hours trading as the E-commerce giant posted a beat on earnings in its fourth quarter. Amazon saw particular success in its cloud computing business, as well as its stake in EV startup, Rivian after its massive IPO. Deren Baker, CEO, Edge by Ascential joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
After a seven-year hiatus, Nissan is returning to the Super Bowl action-packed, star-studded commercial. Allyson Witherspoon, Nissan's Chief Marketing Officer, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the concept of the ad campaign and how it gives clues into where the brand is heading next.
