Wall Street closed on a positive note Wednesday with today's constructive gains largely attributed to President Donald Trump's deal with lawmakers to extend the debt ceiling, and broad-based bottom-fishing after Tuesday's 200+ point loss in the Dow.
Investors rotated out of safe-havens in premarket trade, allowing the blue chip to open with a modest gain on strength in the banking and energy sector. Component stocks Chevron ( CVX ), Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) and Home Depot ( HD ) were leading Dow advancers, while losses in defensive sectors capped gains in the S&P 500.
Economic data was bullish and mildly supportive of stocks as both the purchasing manager's and Institute for Supply Management non-manufacturing indices improved from July. And although the dollar wobbled on the news that Fed hawk and vice chairman Stanley Fischer was leaving the Fed, Wall Street brushed aside the news, focusing instead on negotiations between Trump and democrats to avert a government shut-down.
The Fed's Beige Book generated little reaction from Wall Street as the results largely mirrored those previously reported. Labor markets remain tight with little wage pressures, the economy continues to expand at a "modest to moderate pace", and the Fed concerned about the "prolonged auto slowdown," none of which is likely to alter plans by the Fed to normalize monetary policy.
Safe-havens lost some ground with the president toning down his rhetoric against North Korea, leaving gold nearly $6 lower per ounce and Treasury yields climbing 3-4 basis points along the curve, taking the 10-year note back over 2.10%.
Tomorrow's agenda includes weekly jobless claims, non-farm productivity and unit labor costs, followed by a speech at 12:15pm ET from Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester. After the close, Fed-speak continues with newly appointed Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic, NY president William Dudley and Kansas City president Esther George.
Here's where the markets stood at the close:
US MARKETS
Dow Jones Industrial Index was up 54.33 points (+0.25%)
S&P 500 was up 7.69 points (+0.31%)
Nasdaq Composite Index was up 17.74 points (+0.28%)
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
FTSE 100 was down 0.25%
Nikkei 225 was down 0.14%
Hang Seng Index was down 0.46%
Shanghai China Composite Index was up 0.03%
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) VSTM (+28.13%) Lymphoma drug study met primary endpoints
(+) VYGR (+24.70%) Reported positive results from phase 1b trial of VY-AACD01 for Parkinson's disease
(+) SRPT (+13.75%) Reported positive early/mid stage clinical trial results in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy therapy
(+) CBIO (+11.50%) Reported positive factor IX clinical data
DOWNSIDE MOVERS:
(-) TRVG (-16.34%) Issued FY17 profit warning
(-) HOME (-10.11%) Beat Q2 EPS by a just a penny, 23% increase in revenue topped expectations
(-) RXDX (-7.59%) FDA guidance confirmed completed and ongoing studies are sufficient for submission of NDA for entrectinib
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
