Stocks closed solidly higher Friday as Wall Street cheered reports the Federal Reserve could consider smaller rate hikes following its November meeting.
An early morning article in The Wall Street Journal suggested some Fed officials have been indicating they support slowing down the pace of rate hikes soon in order to allow what they've done thus far (one 0.25% increase followed by three straight 0.75% raises, and expectations for another 0.75% hike at the Nov. 1-2 meeting) to work. This, along with comments from San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, who said today that "the time is now to start planning for stepping down," gave stocks enough reason to rally.
A fresh round of well-received corporate results created another tailwind for stocks, with beermaker Boston Beer (SAM, +19.7%) and regional bank Huntington Bancshares (HBAN, +9.5%) among those higher on Q3 beats.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Not all earnings reactions were positive, though. Snapchat parent Snap (SNAP) plunged 28.1% after reporting its lowest year-over-year revenue growth on record due to slowing ad spending.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.5% at 31,082, the S&P 500 Index was 2.4% higher at 3,752, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.3% to 10,859.
What a Stronger Dollar Means for Stocks
What's in store for next week? A busy earnings calendar loaded with Big Tech results. Among the names set to report are Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL). While earnings from those companies that have posted so far have been generally well received, this next batch could give us a bigger hint at how the stronger dollar impacted corporations in Q3.
"A strong dollar has been a drag for even some unsuspecting companies such as Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Netflix (NFLX) and Levi's (LEVI), but it will especially be a headwind for multinationals," says Larry Adams, chief investment officer of Raymond James' private client group. "While the degree of the impact depends on the blend of costs versus sales overseas and how much of the currency risk is hedged, a stronger dollar typically impairs earnings." So, what does a stronger dollar mean for investors of these multinational corporations (and others)? Here, we take a closer look.
-
Stock Market Today: Markets Reflect Global UncertaintyExuberance fades as investors confront micro challenges and a murkier macro environment.
-
Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Nabs New High After Jobs DataThe S&P 500 also closed at its highest level ever, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was pressured by another down day for UnitedHealth stock.
-
Rebound in Jobs Growth Keeps Fed on Track: What the Experts Are SayingJobs Report No nasty surprises in the November payrolls data leaves a quarter-point cut in play.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Pause Near Highs Ahead of Jobs FridayInvestors await a key data set with sentiment still broadly positive.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Rally as Econ News Affirms Rate-Cut BetsSome soft economic data was good news for rate cuts and risk assets.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks End Mixed Ahead of PowellPolitical upheaval in South Korea kept investors on their toes Tuesday.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Are Positively Mixed to Open DecemberTechnology led the way Monday as two of the three main equity indexes closed higher.
-
Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P 500 Hit New Highs on Black FridaySentiment was bullish on the final trading session of November, with chip stocks leading the charge.
