Wall St ends up after recent weakness; consumer discretionary gains

Much volatility, up and down between red and black all day, at least on the Dow but also on the S&P and Nasdaq though both of those managed to stay in the black all day.  Today’s trigger was just the very smallest hint of the good news that payrolls increased less than expected, once again giving rise to hope that inflation is getting under control and maybe future Fed policy won’t be so tight after all.  But, to keep perspective, today’s expert said, “We’re a little bit oversold. It seems it finally sunk in that interest rates are going to remain higher for longer.” (Gee I thought they had already come to that conclusion a couple weeks ago.)  As before, everyone is looking for Q3 to jumpstart the market again.  Volume was a tad below average at 2.5 billion. 

Wall St ends up after recent weakness; consumer discretionary gains

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Wed October 4, 2023 4:00 PM

DJ: 33,002.38  -430.97        NAS: 13,059.47  -248.31       S&P: 4,229.45  -58.94      10/3

DJ: 33,129.55  +127.17       NAS: 13,236.01  +176.54      S&P: 4,263.75  +34.30     10/4

NEW YORK, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Major U.S. stock indexes ended higher on Wednesday, a day after selling off, as the latest economic data showed U.S. private payrolls increased less than expected in September.  Consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) led S&P 500 sectors higher, followed by technology (.SPLRCT), as U.S. Treasury yields eased off of 16-year highs.  The ADP National Employment Report was cheered by investors worried about rising interest rates and the likelihood that the Federal Reserve may need to keep rates higher for longer.

"On a technical basis, we're probably a little bit oversold," said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president and advisor for Wealthspire Advisors in Westport, Connecticut.  Recent weakness had brought the S&P 500 near the 4,200 level, seen as the index's next level of support.  "This September we saw a shift in both strategist and investor belief," he said. "It seems like it finally sunk in that interest rates are going to remain higher for longer, and that the idea that the Fed is going to cut rates any time soon is fictional."  Other data on Wednesday showed new orders for U.S.-made goods increased more than expected in August, although Friday's jobs report for September is the week's key economic news. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 127.17 points, or 0.39%, to 33,129.55, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 34.3 points, or 0.81%, at 4,263.75 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 176.54 points, or 1.35%, at 13,236.01.

Several mega-cap shares including Amazon.com (AMZN.O) were higher on the day.  Ford Motor (F.N) was near flat even as the automaker posted a nearly 8% rise in U.S. auto sales for the third quarter.

Investors looking for non-economic data to focus on are keen for third-quarter earnings to kick off mid-month. 

Volume on U.S. exchanges totaled 10.50 billion shares, compared with the 10.63 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.45-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.30-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted one new 52-week high and 40 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 18 new highs and 398 new lows.