- Arm movements on debut
- Higher gasoline prices boost retail sales in August
- Weekly jobless claims in the US rose slightly
- Indices: S&P 500 +0.84%, Nasdaq +0.81%, Dow +0.96%
Sept 14 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 closed higher on Thursday as hotter-than-expected economic data eased worries about a recession without stoking fears of a Federal Reserve rate hike next week, while Arm Holdings soared in its stock market debut.
SoftBank’s arm (ARM.O) was valued at nearly $60 billion in its strong Nasdaq debut, with shares of the chip designer rising nearly 25% in their first day of trading.
Retail sales rose more than expected in August due to higher gasoline prices, while initial claims for state jobless benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 220,000 in the week ended Sept. 9, compared with 217,000 the week before.
Monthly producer prices for final demand rose 0.7% last month, against expectations for an increase of 0.4%. On an annual basis, they rose 1.6%, compared with estimates of 1.2%.
“Today’s economic data confirms the path to a soft landing, but without being so severe that the Fed thinks it may need to do a few more rate hikes,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. “All in all, it’s pretty bullish.”
Chip designer Arm’s American depositary shares opened at $56.1 apiece, compared with its initial public offering price of $51, a sign of confidence for other companies planning to take their shares public.
“The game is back on. Capital markets are open for business,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital LLC. “In the next 12 weeks you will see so many IPOs your head will spin.”
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, traders see a 97% chance that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates steady at its Sept. 20 policy meeting and a nearly 67% chance of another rate pause in November.
Citigroup expects the Fed to raise interest rates by 25 basis points in November, compared to its previous forecast of a rate hike in September.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 11, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire License Rights
The S&P 500 rose 0.84% to end the session at 4,505.17 points.
The Nasdaq gained 0.81% to 13,926.05 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.96% to 34,907.51 points. It was the Dow’s biggest daily percentage gain since August 7.
Traded volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.0 billion shares, compared with an average of 9.9 billion shares over the past 20 sessions.
HP (HPQ.N) fell 1.8% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) sold about 5.5 million shares of the company.
Visa (VN) slipped over 2% after the payments processing giant said it is negotiating with Class B shareholders on a proposal to convert their shares to Class C or Class A.
Moderna (MRNA.O) rose 3.9% after a European regulator advisory panel recommended approval of the company’s updated COVID-19 vaccine.
With Thursday’s rally, the S&P 500 is up about 17% so far in 2023, and the Nasdaq is up about 33% over the same period.
In the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX), advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 6.5 to one.
The S&P 500 recorded 12 new highs and 5 new lows; The Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and 169 new lows.
Reporting by Ankika Biswas, Shristi Achar A and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Vinay Dwivedi and David Gregorio
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