Dow Jones| Nasdaq | S&P 500 | US Stock Market Today |Highlights: Dow soars 600 pts, S&P, Nasdaq over 1% as Fed governor Waller's remarks ease rate hike fears

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Business News›Markets›US Stocks›News›Dow Jones| Nasdaq | S&P 500 | US Stock Market Today |Highlights: Dow soars 600 pts, S&P, Nasdaq over 1% as Fed governor Waller's remarks ease rate hike fears LIVE BLOG Wall Street stocks rally as Fed rate hike bets ease. Synopsis Dow Jones| Nasdaq | S&P 500 | US Stock Market Today |Highlights: US stocks rallied sharply after Fed Governor Christopher Waller signalled support for holding rates steady if inflation cools. The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow rose more than 1%, while investors turned their focus to Friday's jobs report for fresh clues on the Fed's next move. Dow Jones| Nasdaq | S&P 500 | US Stock Market Today |Highlights: Wall Street ended sharply higher on Thursday as investors scaled back expectations of a September Fed rate hike after Governor Christopher Waller said he would support holding rates steady if inflation pressures ease. The S&P 500 rose 1.07%, the Nasdaq gained 1.40% and the Dow climbed 1.18%. AI-linked megacaps boosted the Nasdaq, while Snowflake's strong forecast lifted software stocks. Investors now await Friday's US payrolls report for clues on the Fed's rate path. Show more 1 New Update S&P 500 gained 81.67 points, or 1.07%, to end at 7,748.27 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 366.39 points, or 1.40%, to 26,584.21. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 627.37 points, or 1.18%, to 53,689.32. Read more Gold rose more than 2% on Thursday as traders scaled back September rate hike expectations after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he would support leaving interest rates unchanged if data continues to show inflation pressures moderating. Read more The cost of borrowing for Americans is climbing again, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rising to its highest level in more than a year, adding another hurdle for households already facing stretched affordability, according to a Reuters report. Read more OpenAI unveiled its latest artificial intelligence model, GPT-6 Astra, promoting its advanced speed and versatility for enterprise tasks like tax preparation and software development. However, the launch comes alongside warnings from the company that the model is more capable of concealing its reasoning methods and attempting to evade human monitoring. As OpenAI faces mounting scrutiny over autonomous systems following a security breach in July, the developer is working to implement automated shutdown features and enhanced safety protocols to reassure regulators while competing aggressively for business customers. U.S. Vice President JD Vance stated Thursday that the Trump administration believes the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates, pointing to recent inflation data as justification for the move. Speaking from the White House briefing room, Vance noted that while the administration is taking steps to help keep borrowing costs down, support from the central bank would be welcome. U.S. dollar fell to its lowest point since May on Thursday as a surging Japanese yen and dovish comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller weighed on the currency. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.6% against major peers after Waller indicated that upcoming inflation data would heavily influence the central bank's next decision, prompting traders to scale back expectations for a September rate hike. Meanwhile, the yen climbed 2.1% as investors increased bets on Bank of Japan rate increases and stayed watchful for potential market interventions to support the currency. Fintech startup OpenReserve has secured preliminary approval for a national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, paving the way to launch a federally licensed, 24-hour bank built on blockchain technology. Backed by a $25 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz's crypto fund, the branchless bank is founded by former MoneyLion executives aiming to bridge traditional finance with digital assets. Pending final FDIC approval, OpenReserve plans to issue its own regulatory-compliant stablecoin and tokenize deposits to enable instant, continuous money settlement even when traditional Federal Reserve payment windows are closed. The S&P 500 jumped 1% on Thursday, positioning the benchmark index for its strongest single-day performance in a month after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller signaled that cooling inflation could keep interest rates steady. Tech stocks pushed higher overall, supported by Snowflake's 21% surge on strong earnings, a 4% gain in Meta Platforms following its latest artificial intelligence launch, and Nvidia's agreement to acquire startup Hugging Face for $13 billion. Although Broadcom and Hewlett Packard Enterprise faced post-earnings declines, broader market volatility remained subdued as investors turned their attention to the upcoming monthly U.S. employment report. Bitcoin rose over 5% on Thursday to cross the $80,000 mark, tracking a broader rally in risk assets after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller signaled a potential pause in interest rate hikes. Despite the price jump, analysts caution that the rebound faces structural headwinds from uneven U.S. ETF inflows, subdued trading volume, and negative price premiums on domestic exchanges. With long-term crypto holders expected to take profits near the $83,000 range, market observers emphasize that Bitcoin needs sustained daily closes and stronger buying velocity to confirm a true breakout from its recent consolidation. Global stock markets surged and bond yields pulled back on Thursday after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicated a willingness to hold interest rates steady if incoming inflation data shows cooling. His comments reduced market expectations for a mid-September Fed rate hike to around 50%, sparking gains across major Wall Street indexes and weighing on the U.S. dollar. The shift in monetary policy expectations offered relief to fixed-income markets following a week of rising yields driven by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, while the Japanese yen rallied 2% on separate expectations of a rate increase by the Bank of Japan. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller warned Thursday that the safety premium historically enjoyed by U.S. government debt has largely vanished, driving Treasury yields higher and pushing up the underlying neutral interest rate. Speaking at a Reuters event, Waller explained that growing concerns over the expanding national debt alongside heavy demand for capital to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure are raising borrowing costs. He added that the U.S. cannot simply grow its way out of its $40 trillion debt load without drastically reducing structural deficits, suggesting that higher baseline policy rates may be needed to maintain economic stability. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares fell as much as 12% on Thursday after third-quarter sales failed to satisfy investors expecting a larger beat following a massive stock rally this year. Although revenue climbed 34% to $12.2 billion and the company raised its full-year financial outlook, persistent component supply constraints limited HPE's ability to fully meet surging demand for artificial intelligence servers and networking gear. CEO Antonio Neri addressed market concerns over a new networking partnership with Oracle, clarifying that stock warrants offered to Oracle were growth incentives rather than circular financing, as the company works to convert strong customer demand into lasting profitability. Gold prices jumped over 2% to $4,491.55 per ounce on Thursday after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller signaled he might support holding interest rates steady if inflation continues to cool. His comments prompted traders to trim expectations for a September rate hike, sending U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar lower while boosting non-yielding bullion. Investors are now turning their attention to upcoming U.S. employment and inflation reports to gauge the central bank's next moves, even as broader precious metals like silver, platinum, and palladium also recorded strong gains. Aluminium prices rose for a fifth consecutive session on Thursday to reach $3,308.50 a metric ton, hitting their highest level in more than three weeks. Shrinking inventories are driving the market tightness, with London Metal Exchange stocks dropping to their lowest levels since 1990 and Chinese inventories falling for eleven straight weeks. A weaker U.S. dollar and cooling expectations of a September Federal Reserve rate hike further supported metal prices, lifting copper, zinc, and tin alongside aluminium amid forecasts of an ongoing global supply deficit. The yen rallied against the dollar on Thursday on fresh talk of intervention by Japan to boost its currency, while oil prices jumped on new Iran strikes against US targets in the Gulf region. Bond yields eased, however, helping Wall Street and European stock markets move higher. The yen jumped more two percent against the dollar in European trading hours amid renewed speculation of another intervention to prop up the sagging currency, which increases import costs for Japan. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is preparing to sell $785 million in bonds backed by New York City's mansion tax to fund crucial capital infrastructure projects. Secured by revenues from real estate sales valued at $2 million or more, the sale marks the second time the agency has issued debt against the levy since state lawmakers approved it in 2019. The MTA expects to collect nearly $400 million from the tax in 2026, which rating agencies like Moody's and S&P view favorably due to the long-term resilience and growth of the city's luxury property market. Chevron has secured a landmark agreement to tap billions of barrels of Venezuelan crude, capping two decades of remaining in the country while major competitors fled following asset nationalizations. The company plans to invest $7 billion over the next five years, targeting 600,000 barrels per day at extraction costs under $20 a barrel. The deal comes as part of a broader push by the U.S. government to rebuild Venezuela's energy sector following the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro, positioning Chevron to generate an estimated $1.5 billion in annual free cash flow despite ongoing political and legal uncertainties in both Washington and Caracas. - Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners A agreement granting the United States control over roughly one-fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves has triggered widespread outrage and skepticism across the nation, where oil wealth has long been tied to national identity. The deal gives a American joint venture 100-year rights over 17 oil fields holding an estimated 65 billion barrels of reserves, marking a historic shift after years of state dominance under Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. While acting President Delcy Rodríguez defended the move as a path toward economic revival and modern investment for the country's decaying energy infrastructure, many citizens view the agreement as a surrender of sovereignty following the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro. United States natural gas futures rose 1.0% to $2.987 per million British thermal units on Thursday, reaching an eight-week high as unseasonably warm weather boosted air conditioning demand across the country. Higher power plant consumption resulted in a smaller-than-usual weekly storage injection of 30 billion cubic feet, while gas flows to major export plants increased to 18.0 billion cubic feet per day so far in September following Tropical Storm Edouard. Although international gas prices remain near multi-year highs due to geopolitical conflicts, U.S. domestic prices stayed insulated as domestic production remains high and current export facilities continue to run at capacity. Blackstone is continuing to limit quarterly withdrawals to 5% at its $77.2 billion flagship private credit fund after investor redemption requests reached roughly 10% in the third quarter. Wealthy investors have been pulling capital from private credit vehicles over growing concerns about software industry borrowers and tightening lending standards. Despite fulfilling roughly half of the $4.3 billion in third-quarter repurchase requests, Blackstone reassured investors that the fund remains well-capitalized with strong overall portfolio performance, supported by $750 million in new inflows and steady loan repayments. United States refined copper imports surged to an all-time high of 225,094 metric tons in July as traders rushed to move metal ahead of potential new import tariffs. Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce showed a 78% jump from the previous month, driven primarily by shipments from Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The ongoing regulatory uncertainty has also fueled a record-setting inventory buildup on the COMEX exchange, bringing total U.S. copper imports for the first seven months of 2026 to 1.12 million tons. Tyson Foods reduced its annual profit and sales forecasts for the second time in a month, sending its stock down roughly 8% in early trading. The meat processor is struggling with severe margin compression in its beef segment, driven by volatile cattle prices and an ongoing national cattle shortage caused by drought and wildfires. To counter these industry-wide pressures, the company has announced plans to sell or close three processing sites while lowering its expected fiscal 2026 operating income to between $1.85 billion and $2.05 billion. Read more Campbell's issued a disappointing annual forecast for profit and sales on Thursday, driving its stock down about 7% in early trading. The soup and snack maker cut its quarterly dividend by over a third to accelerate debt reduction while setting a target for $500 million in cost savings by 2030 through plant closures and job cuts. As inflation and elevated prices push lower-income shoppers toward cheaper store brands, Campbell's volume in its key snacks division fell 6%, leading management to warn that fiscal 2027 net sales could fall up to 4%. Read more Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller signaled Thursday that he would support an interest rate hike at the upcoming September meeting if new economic data shows inflation accelerating. His comments align him with at least four other rate-setting committee members who are open to tightening monetary policy further after three regional presidents dissented during July's decision to pause. With the Fed's key inflation gauge remaining well above its 2% target following recent tariffs and Middle East conflicts, officials are closely watching upcoming consumer price and jobs reports to decide whether current rates of 3.50% to 3.75% are enough to tame rising prices. Snowflake shares jumped nearly 25% on Thursday to reach their highest level since December 2021 after the company raised its annual product revenue forecast to $6.07 billion. CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy highlighted that artificial intelligence products accounted for about half of the company's growth acceleration, boosting investor confidence that AI spending is delivering real financial gains for software firms. The strong results sparked a broad rally across the tech sector, lifting shares of major software peers like Salesforce, Adobe, and ServiceNow as Wall Street analysts raised price targets across the board. The Japanese yen surged nearly 2% against the U.S. dollar on Thursday as traders increased bets on a Bank of Japan interest rate hike following hawkish remarks from central bank officials. Central bank data confirmed that Wednesday's sharp currency gains were driven by market speculation rather than official government intervention, with markets now pricing in a 75% chance of a rate increase this month. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar weakened after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller suggested rates could remain steady if upcoming inflation data shows cooling, pulling down odds of a September Fed rate hike ahead of Friday's U.S. payrolls report. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller urged his colleagues to be patient and give disinflation a chance before deciding whether to raise interest rates at their upcoming September meeting. Speaking at a Reuters event, Waller explained that he favors keeping the benchmark interest rate unchanged in the 3.50% to 3.75% range if August economic data shows continued progress toward the central bank's 2% target. While he remains open to voting for a rate hike if inflation comes in hot, he noted that price pressures from tariffs and high energy costs appear to be easing, leading financial markets to lower the odds of an immediate rate increase. Read more Nvidia is acquiring the developer platform Hugging Face for $12.93 billion to expand its footprint in open-source artificial intelligence. The deal includes nearly $12 billion for investors alongside a $1 billion employee retention plan. CEO Jensen Huang confirmed that Hugging Face will remain open to the entire developer community and will not require Nvidia hardware. By backing open-weight models, Nvidia aims to stay closely connected to developer workflows and cushion potential slowdowns as major tech clients build their own custom chips. Oil prices climbed to six-week highs as escalating conflict in the Middle East sparked fresh concerns over global energy supplies. Standard Brent crude reached $96.22 a barrel following major U.S. airstrikes in Iran and new threats from Israel targeting Iranian infrastructure. The violence, paired with Tehran's tighter restrictions on ships passing through the critical Strait of Hormuz, caused vessel traffic to drop sharply. With global oil inventories already falling, the price spike is stoking inflation fears and raising expectations that the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates later this month. US Treasury yields pared declines after ISM non-manufacturing data. The 10-year Treasury yield was last down 4 basis points at 4.754%. Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Thursday after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he was open to leaving interest rates unchanged this month if data confirms inflation pressures are cooling off. Read more Investors are now turning their attention to Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which could provide fresh clues about the Federal Reserve's interest-rate outlook. The data will be closely watched for signs of strength or weakness in the labour market. Alongside developments in oil prices, Treasury yields and corporate earnings, the report could influence the direction of U.S. stocks. Broadcom shares fell 2.29% in premarket trading after the chipmaker's fourth-quarter revenue forecast fell short of Wall Street's high expectations. The decline highlighted the demanding outlook facing companies at the centre of the artificial intelligence investment boom. Snowflake moved in the opposite direction, surging 23.76% after issuing a strong annual revenue forecast. U.S. Treasury yields eased as a selloff in the bond market slowed, offering some relief to equities. Elevated Treasury yields have weighed on stocks in recent weeks by increasing borrowing costs and making bonds relatively more attractive. Investors remain alert to further disruptions, although Invesco's Benjamin Jones said higher yields were becoming a comparatively smaller concern. Brent crude prices remained in a tight range after earlier declines, with the benchmark last up 0.23%. Goldman Sachs analysts said markets' growing ability to adapt to the conflict could limit the upside for crude prices, even if disruptions in the Middle East persist. Higher oil prices remain a key concern for investors because sustained increases could add to inflationary pressures. U.S. stock index futures were muted on Thursday as investors assessed higher oil prices and the prospect of an escalating conflict in the Middle East. Dow futures rose 0.17%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.05% and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.04%. Renewed military strikes involving the U.S. and Iran added to market uncertainty despite recent strength in corporate earnings.