Wall Street gained ground this afternoon, following the upward trends seen in UK and European markets, while the dollar also strengthened.
This rise follows unexpectedly strong economic data from Washington, which alleviated concerns about a slowdown just a day before the Federal Reserve is expected to announce an interest rate cut.
Tuesday’s data revealed an increase in U.S. retail sales for August and a rebound in factory production.
“That indicates a healthy state of the economy,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities. He anticipates that Fed Chair Jerome Powell will cut rates by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday and is looking for indications regarding future actions.
“He may suggest that the Fed could be more aggressive in upcoming meetings, but I think they’ll start off cautiously,” Cardillo noted.
The S&P 500 reached an all-time high during trading and is poised for a record close, currently up 0.4%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also saw a 0.4% increase, while the Nasdaq rose by 0.7%.
Eddie Kennedy from Marlborough Investment Management commented, “Everyone’s pricing in a soft landing, and it seems the Fed has been quite clear that we’re in a rate-cutting environment. Historically, stocks have performed well in such conditions.”
