S&P 500 Rises for Fourth Straight Day as Investors Anticipate Fed Rate Cut
The major averages closed broadly higher, with the S&P 500 notching 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.Looking to commodities, gold prices were little changed with the "safe haven" asset hovering near the $4,200 mark. Oil prices rose, 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 Q3ITTagreed to acquire SPX FLOW for $4.775B in cash and equitySoftBankis in talks to acquire datacenter investor DigitalBridge,2. WALL STREET CALLS:BofAVictoria's Secretto Neutral, while JPMorgan upgraded the stock to OverweightMP Materialsto Overweight at Morgan StanleyUnityto Overweight at Wells FargoRaymond JamesParsonson FAA contract snubKosmosto Underperform from Buy at BofA3. AROUND THE WEB:Paramount Skydanceis weighing a higher bid for Warner Bros.,Elon Musk's SpaceX is eyeing an $800B valuation in share sale talks,Barclaysis expected to submit a bid for Evelyn Partners,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,4. MOVERS:Praxis Precisionincreases afterwith the FDARubrikgains afterand raising its guidance for FY26New Fortress Energyhigher afterfor a gas supply pact with Puerto RicoDomofalls afterand announcing CEO Joshua Hames will be reducing his duties to 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"Southwestcut itsConmedreaffirmed itsToro Corp., with EPS higher year-over-yearCooper Companiesand provided guidance for FY26 and Q1INDEXES:The Dow rose 104.05, or 0.22%, to 47,954.99, the Nasdaq gained 72.99, or 0.31%, to 23,578.13, and the S&P 500 advanced 13.28, or 0.19%, to 6,870.40.
