Stocks moved solidly higher in early trading Thursday following a steep downturn yesterday sparked by news that the Federal Reserve expects to make fewer interest rate cuts next year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were up 0.9% about 10 minutes after the opening bell, while the the Nasdaq Composite gained 1%. The major indexes posted their biggest one-day losses in four months on Wednesday, as the Dow fell 2.6% to extend its losing streak to ten consecutive sessions, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 3% and 3.6%, respectively.
The sell-off came after the Fed cut its benchmark rate by a quarter point, as had been expected, but indicated that its policy committee would be taking a cautious approach moving forward as it looks for signs that inflation remains under control. Policy committee members expect two quarter-point cuts in 2025, according to projections released yesterday, down from the four cuts they had penciled in the last time projections were issued in September.
Mega-cap technology stocks were higher across the board early Thursday, led by AI investor favorite Nvidia (NVDA) and EV maker Tesla (TSLA), which were each up about 2%. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META) and Broadcom (AVGO) were also gaining ground.
Shares of chipmaker Micron (MU) tumbled 15% this morning after the chipmaker reported mixed quarterly results and issued a disappointing outlook.
Among other noteworthy post-earnings movers, shares of Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants (DRI) were up 12%, while consulting giant Accenture (ACN) gained 7%. Shares of Lennar (LEN) were down 4% after the homebuilder released its quarterly results, while Lamb Weston (LW) fell 15% after the maker of frozen french fries reported disappointing results and appointed a new CEO.
The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which is sensitive to expectations about where interest rates are headed, rose to 4.55% this morning, up from 4.50% yesterday and trading at its highest levels since May.
Bitcoin was trading at $102,400, up from an overnight low of around $99,000 but well below the record of over $108,000 set earlier this week. Gold futures were down about 1.5% at $2,610 an ounce, while crude oil futures were down about 0.5%.