Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 29, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Stocks rose Thursday, as hope over easing inflation and gains in tech helped Wall Street claw back more of this week’s losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 198 points, or 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.7%.
Investor optimism was boosted after the European Central Bank lowered forecasts for annual inflation and growth on Thursday, though the bank also held key interest rates steady. That can be taken as a positive signal on the international inflation front.
The ECB’s announcement comes after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress on Wednesday that he expects interest rates to come down this year, while noting that the U.S. central bank was not immediately ready to begin cutting. Powell will speak before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, the second of his two Capitol Hill appearances this week.
In corporate news, Victoria’s Secret plunged 28% after posting mixed quarterly results and issuing disappointing guidance. On the other hand, U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk popped almost 9% on the back of positive trial results for an obesity treatment.
Thursday’s gains add to Wednesday’s bounce, which marked the first winning day of the week for any of the three major averages. Despite the tough start to the week, the S&P 500 now flickered around its flatline. The Dow and Nasdaq Composite are each still down 0.7% on the week.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq was helped by a gain of more than 2% in Nvidia, the artificial intelligence darling whose shares have climbed more than 10% this week. Though tech performed well, Apple oscillated around flat in Thursday morning trading, flirting with its seventh straight losing session.
Shares of New York Community Bancorp rose 14% in volatile trading Thursday morning. The stock tumbled more than 40% during Wednesday’s session, but went on to finish with a 7.5% gain after announcing a $1 billion capital raise.
Investors are also awaiting Friday’s U.S. jobs report for insights into the state of the labor market, which has shown resilience despite higher interest rates.
