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Financial Markets 03/27 15:44
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks rose to a record Wednesday after breaking out
of their three-day lull.
The S&P 500 climbed 44.91 points, or 0.9%, to 5,248.49. It was the first
gain for the index since setting its last all-time high on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 477.75, or 1.2%, to 39,760.08, and
the Nasdaq composite gained 83.82, or 0.5%, to 16,399.52. Both finished a bit
shy of their own records.
Merck climbed 5% after federal regulators approved its treatment for adults
with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare disease where blood vessels in the
lungs thicken and narrow.
Cintas, a provider of work uniforms and office supplies, was another force
pushing the S&P 500 upward. It jumped 8.2% after reporting stronger profit for
the latest quarter than analysts expected.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, meanwhile, continued their wild
ride and rose another 14.2%. The company behind the money-losing Truth Social
platform has zoomed well beyond what critics say is rational, as fans of former
president Donald Trump keep pushing it higher.
Robinhood Markets climbed 3.7% after unveiling its first credit card, which
is reserved for its subscription-paying Gold members, along with other new
products.
On the losing end of Wall Street was Nvidia, which slumped to a second
straight loss after screaming 91% higher for the year so far. It sank 2.5%, as
some investors may have locked in profits before closing their books on the
year's first quarter. Nvidia has been one of the biggest winners of Wall
Street's frenzy around artificial intelligence.
GameStop tumbled 15% after delivering a profit for the latest quarter and a
drop in revenue from the prior year. It's the original meme stock, predating
Trump Media by years, where its price has often moved more on the sentiment of
smaller-pocketed investors than on traditional fundamentals like its profit and
revenue.
In the bond market, Treasury yields slipped on a day with few economic
reports to shake things up.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.19% from 4.23% late Tuesday.
This week's highlight for the bond market may be arriving Friday, when the
U.S. government releases the latest monthly update on spending by U.S.
consumers. It will include the measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve
prefers to use as it sets interest rates.
Both the U.S. bond and stock markets will be closed that day for Good
Friday. That could cause some anticipatory trades to bunch up on Thursday. It
will be the last trading day of the year's first quarter, which could further
roil things.
The S&P 500 is on track for a fifth straight winning month and has been
roaring higher since late October. The U.S. economy has remained remarkably
resilient despite high interest rates meant to get inflation under control.
Plus, the Federal Reserve looks set to start lowering interest rates this year
because inflation has cooled from its peak.
But critics say a broader range of companies will need to deliver strong
profit growth to justify the big moves in prices. Progress on bringing
inflation down has also become bumpier recently, with reports this year coming
in hotter than expected.
Still, the broad expectation among traders is for the Federal Reserve to
begin cutting its main interest rate in June.
Stocks generally tend to do the best when more than half the world's central
banks are easing interest rates, according to Ned Davis Research. The world is
not there yet, but several central banks have already begun cutting recently,
like Switzerland's, and it could happen later this year.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia.
Chinese stocks were some of the worst performers. Stocks tumbled 1.4% in
Hong Kong and 1.3% in Shanghai.
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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
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