Investing.com -- The Dow closed higher Tuesday as sliding Treasury yields paved the way for tech stocks to rack up gains after a cooler-than-expected inflation report supported investor expectations that the Federal Reserve's hiking cycle has ended.
By 16:00 ET (21:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 489 points or 1.4%, while the S&P 500 was up 1.9% and the NASDAQ Composite was up 2.4%.
U.S. October consumer inflation cools more than expected, pushing Treasury yields lower
The consumer price index in October slowed to a reading of 0% from 0.4% the prior month that was above economists expectations for a reading of 0.1%. The slowing than expected reading, added to expectations that the Federal Reserve isn’t likely to raise interest rates again.
“October CPI was soft on the services side, and a November print like this would not meet the bar we previously set for an additional hike in December,” Morgan Stanley said in a note on Tuesday. “We think soft inflation and still tight financial conditions will keep the Fed on hold,” it added.
Traders now expect the Fed to keep rates hold and deliver a first rate cut in May, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Treasury yields fell sharply on the report, with the yield on 2-year Treasury falling 21 basis points to 4.832%, while the yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped 18 basis points to 4.455%.
These gains followed the release of data showing headline inflation in the U.S. slowed by more than expected in October, in a boost for Federal Reserve officials keen on corralling price pressures in the world's largest economy.
Tech, chip stocks shine on falling Treasury yields
Big tech was led higher by Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) as sentiment on growth sectors of the market was supported by dip in Treasury yields.
A more than 3% rise in chip stocks, meanwhile, also supported the broader tech sector amid a surge in Globalfoundries Inc (NASDAQ:GFS), Novanta Inc (NASDAQ:NOVT), and Marvell Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MRVL), with latter rallying on positive remarks from Wall Street.
RothMKM started coverage on Marvell Technology at buy with a $60 price target, saying the chipmaker is "well positioned" to benefit from AI.
Home Depot kicks off earnings for big-box retailers with Q3 beat
Home Depot (NYSE:HD) rose more than 5% after the retailer reported Q3 results that topped Wall Street estimates including a smaller-than-anticipated 3.1% decline in third-quarter comparable sales as customers undertook more modest projects and home repairs. The retailer also narrowed its full-year outlook, now expecting sales to fall by 3% to 4% from the prior year, compared with a previous expectation of a 2% to 5% decline.
Target (NYSE:TGT) follows with its earnings on Wednesday, while Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Macy’s (NYSE:M) are scheduled to release their results on Thursday.
Electric vehicle maker Fisker Inc (NYSE:FSR) reported disappointing earnings and said it would delay its quarterly regulatory filing, sending its shares 18% lower.
Energy stocks lag broader move higher despite gains in oil
Energy stocks were up less than 1%, lagging the broader market move higher despite rising oil prices amid a stronger demand outlook.
The IEA, in its monthly report, lifted its 2023 growth forecast to 2.4 million barrels per day from 2.3 million, and 930,000 barrels per day from 880,000 in 2024.
The agency, however, was careful to point to an expected deceleration in economic growth in nearly all major economies next year, but said its expectations were underpinned by hopes of interest rate cuts and the recent fall in crude prices.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had also slightly raised its 2023 forecast for growth in global oil demand, in its monthly report, released on Monday.
(Liz Moyer, Peter Nurse, and Oliver Gray contributed to this story.)