S&P 500 Rises for Fourth Straight Day as Investors Anticipate Fed Rate Cut

The major averages were broadly higher near noon, with the S&P 500 on pace for its fourth straight day of gains as investors digest inflation readings that could shape the outlook for Federal Reserve policy. Investor optimism appears rooted in growing expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates later this month as futures markets indicate the odds of a rate cut are seen as high.In economic news, U.S. headline PCE chain prices rose 03% and the core was up 0.2% in September. Meanwhile, he preliminary Michigan sentiment report for December revealed a sentiment bounce to 53.3 from a 41-month low of 51.0 in November but a higher 53.6 in October.Looking to commodities, gold prices continued their upward trend, with the "safe haven" asset inching closer to $4,300. Oil prices were also higher, surpassing the $60 per barrel threshold by a little.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:NetflixWarner Bros.after the Discovery separation for an equity value of $72BHP Enterprisereportedand provided its outlook for Q1Ulta Beautyprovided areport for Q3ITTSPX FLOW for $4.775B in cash and equitySoftBankis in talks to acquire datacenter investor DigitalBridge,2. WALL STREET CALLS:MP Materialsto Overweight at Morgan StanleyUnityto Overweight at Wells FargoHumanato Buy at JefferiesRaymond JamesParsonson FAA contract snubKosmosto Underperform from Buy at BofA3. AROUND THE WEB:Russia's internet and media regulator Roskomnadzor has blocked Snapchat (SNAP) and Roblox, saying the platforms were used for "extremist and terrorist" activity,Ocado is set to receive $350M from Krogerafter the grocer opted to shut down three robotic warehouses and scrapped plans for another facility,Amazon'sItalian unit has paid compensation and scrapped a monitoring system for delivery staff, ending a probe alleging tax fraud and illegal labor practices,Canada's government has told Stellantisthat its shift of Jeep Compass production to Illinois from a plant in Toronto has meant the company defaulted on contracts covering hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance,Saaband Airbusare in discussions to co-operate on unmanned warplane technology, with the project focused on exploring unmanned aircraft to support the generation of crewed combat jets,4. MOVERS:Praxis Precisionincreases aftermeeting with the FDARubrikgains afterand raising its guidance for FY26New Fortress Energyhigher afterfor a gas supply pact with Puerto RicoDomofalls after reporting quarterly results and announcing CEO Joshua Hames will beto focus on his healthSentinelOnelower afterand announcing CFO Barbara Larson will be stepping down5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:Victoria's Secretand raised its guidance for FY25, with CEO Hillary Super commenting, "We delivered a standout third quarter"Southwestfor FY25Conmedfor FY25Toro Corp., with EPS higher year-over-yearCooper Companiesand provided guidance for FY26 and Q1INDEXES:Near midday, the Dow was up 0.13%, or 63.52, to 47,914.46, the Nasdaq was up 0.21%, or 48.87, to 23,554.01, and the S&P 500 was up 0.15%, or 9.95, to 6,867.07.