Wall St rallies on boost from Big Tech as geopolitical tensions ease
Reuters
Published Feb 15, 2022 05:53
Updated Feb 15, 2022 13:10
By Devik Jain and Susan Mathew
(Reuters) -The Nasdaq surged up to 2% and the S&P and Dow jumped more than 1% on Tuesday, as signs of a de-escalation in tensions between Russia and Ukraine pushed up megacap growth names and banks, and helped investors shrug off hotter-than expected inflation data.
Russia said some of its military units were returning to their bases after exercises near Ukraine and stressed the need for continued dialogue on security. [nL8N2UQ28Q][nR4N2U200K]
Megacap growth stocks including Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google-owner Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose between 1.1% and 4.3%.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index climbed 3.8% after Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) announced a $5.4 billion deal to buy Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor.
Banks added 1.2%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 index gained 2.0%.
"This morning is strictly about the perception that Russia may be pulling back from an attack which is a complete turnaround from yesterday's fear that an attack was very imminent. So there's a relief rally," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey.
But the easing in geopolitical tensions meant tighter oil supply and demand balance which pushed crude prices almost 4% down from a seven-year high. [O/R]
The S&P 500 energy index slid 1.5% to a two-week low, the sole decliner among the 11 major S&P sectors.
At 12:27 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 349.70 points, or 1.01%, at 34,915.87, the S&P 500 was up 60.98 points, or 1.39%, at 4,462.65, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 217.79 points, or 1.58%, at 14,008.71.
The major indexes have had a rocky start to 2022, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down almost 10% so far this year as geopolitical tensions rattled investors' sentiment already hit by worries over a hawkish Federal Reserve.
The CBOE Market Volatility index, a gauge for investor anxiety, fell back sharply after shooting up to its highest level in nearly three weeks in the previous session.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. producer prices increased by the most in eight months in January, another sign that high inflation could persist through much of this year.
Markets are pricing a 61.8% chance of a 50 basis point hike and a 38.2% chance of a 0.25% hike at the Fed's March meeting as it attempts to curb the surge in inflation. Minutes from the central bank's January policy meeting are due on Wednesday.
Get The App
Arista Networks jumped 7.1% after the cloud infrastructure supplier forecast current-quarter revenue above estimates.
Marriott International Inc added 4.0% after its fourth-quarter results topped expectations, as increasing vaccination rates and holiday-season traffic boosted occupancy rates across its hotels.
Other travel stocks battered by the pandemic, including those of carriers and cruise operators, also took heart, putting the S&P airlines index on track for its best session this year, up 5.0%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.35-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 4.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded six new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 30 new highs and 51 new lows.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.