Wall Street jumps on tech boost, yen slides on BOJ gloom
NEW YORK : Wall Street stocks rallied and gold prices slid on Thursday as solid earnings from big tech bolstered investor risk appetite.
All three major U.S. stock indexes began the month in positive territory, with upbeat quarterly results from Meta Platforms and Microsoft benefiting the Nasdaq most, sending the tech-laden index up 2.4 per cent.
The bellwether S&P 500 is on track to extend its gains to an eighth consecutive session, its longest winning streak since August 2024.
The dollar advanced as the yen took a hit after the Bank of Japan cut its growth forecasts due to uncertainties surrounding U.S. tariff policy.
Trading was thin throughout Asia and Europe due to May Day holidays.
There were no major announcements regarding trade negotiations following U.S. President Donald Trump's steep tariffs announced on April 2, which rattled world markets for much of last month.
"I suspect that any news on tariff negotiations will be the same as we've heard in the last few days, which is lots of deals are done, but they're waiting for a sign off on the other party, which seems to spell out to me there is no deal done," said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, in New York.
"They might be working toward agreements, but until the ink is on paper, as they say, like there's no deal."
First quarter earnings season is well past its halfway point, with 375 companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 74 per cent have beaten analyst expectations, according to LSEG.
Apple Inc and Amazon.com are due to report after the closing bell, the fifth and sixth members of the so-called "magnificent seven" to post quarterly results, leaving chipmaker Nvidia, which is expected to release its first-quarter earnings on May 28.
On the economic front, U.S. factory activity remained in contraction, while jobless claims increased more than analysts expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 311.33 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 40,981.02, the S&P 500 increased 76.53 points, or 1.37 per cent, to 5,645.25 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 413.81 points, or 2.36 per cent, to 17,860.15.
MAY DAY HOLIDAY
Many markets in Europe and the rest of the world were closed for the May Day holiday.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose 5.63 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 839.17.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 1.24 points, or 0.06 per cent.
Emerging market stocks fell 2.91 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 1,109.93. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed lower by 0.19 per cent, to 579.92, while Japan's Nikkei rose 406.92 points, or 1.13 per cent, to 36,452.30.
The greenback advanced after the BoJ's outlook downgrade, which reduced the prospect for future rate hikes.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.55 per cent to 100.22, with the euro down 0.41 per cent at $1.128.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 1.6 per cent to 145.36.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 2.3 basis points to 4.198 per cent, from 4.175 per cent late on Wednesday.The 30-year bond yield increased 4.5 basis points to 4.7248 per cent from 4.68 per cent late on Wednesday.
The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose 1.8 basis points to 3.639 per cent, from 3.621 per cent late on Wednesday.
Oil prices reversed their earlier slump on waning fears of softening demand.
U.S. crude rose 0.93 per cent to $58.77 a barrel and Brent climbed to $61.52 per barrel, up 0.75 per cent on the day.
Gold prices extended their decline, touching a two-week low as easing trade tensions drew investors away from the safe-haven metal.
Spot gold fell 1.94 per cent to $3,224.06 an ounce. U.S. gold futures decreased 2.43 per cent to $3,224.70 an ounce.
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