Stock Market Today: Stocks Rise for Third Straight Day; Bitcoin Pops on SEC News
Bitcoin and bitcoin-related stocks rallied Tuesday after a federal appeals court potentially paved the way for a spot market ETF.
Stocks closed higher Tuesday as investors cheered some bad-news-is-good-news jobs data. Sentiment also got a lift from an outsized rally in tech stocks that was fueled by declining Treasury yields and a round of bargain hunting.
Shortly after the opening bell rang, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said job openings fell by 338,000 in July to 8.8 million – their lowest level since March 2021. Professional and business services saw the biggest decline in job openings (-198,000), while the information field experienced the largest increase (+101,000). Meanwhile, the number of people quitting their jobs fell to 3.5 million from 3.8 million in June.
The Federal Reserve has consistently expressed concern that a stubbornly tight labor market is working at odds with its efforts to bring down inflation, so today's data is welcome news. Indeed, futures traders are now pricing in an 87% chance the central bank will pause rate hikes at its September meeting – up from yesterday's 78%, according to CME Group. Meanwhile, the probability of a rate hike at the Fed's November meeting dropped to 45% from Monday's 51%.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free 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.
Investors will get another reading on the labor market this Friday with the release of the August nonfarm payrolls report. "Investors should expect a softening labor report this Friday, further cementing the thesis that the Fed is getting close to finishing its tightening cycle," says Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial.
Also on today's economic calendar, data from The Conference Board showed its consumer confidence index fell to 106.1 in August from July's downwardly revised reading of 114.0. This marked the first decline for the index in two months. "Write-in responses showed that consumers were once again preoccupied with rising prices in general, and for groceries and gasoline in particular," said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, in the report.
Coinbase, Bitcoin jump on favorable court order
In single-stock news, Coinbase Global (COIN) surged 14.9% today after a federal appeals court in Washington D.C. overturned the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) attempt to block Grayscale Investments' application for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Judge Neomi Rao said the SEC's decision to approve two bitcoin future ETFs but reject the application for the spot market fund was "arbitrary and capricious."
The order "does not convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC, +17.0%) product into an ETF immediately, but gives a fair basis for Grayscale to be treated in line with other Bitcoin ETF applicants," says Gautam Chhugani, senior analyst of Global Digital Assets at Bernstein.
Other bitcoin-related stocks got a lift on the news, too, including Robinhood Markets (HOOD, +4.5%) and MicroStrategy (MSTR, +10.8%). Bitcoin, for its part, jumped more than 7%.
As for the major market indexes, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared 1.7% to 13,943, the broader S&P 500 gained 1.5% to 4,497, and the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% to 34,852.
Related content
-
The Retirement Donor's Checklist: Key Deadlines by Gift TypeRetirees have some charitable contribution options that can help avoid spikes in income from RMDS and capital gains.
-
Cooler Inflation Supports a Relief Rally: Stock Market TodayInvestors, traders and speculators welcome much-better-than-hoped-for core CPI data on top of optimism-renewing AI earnings.
-
Are T-Mobile's Prepaid Perks a Home Run or a Strikeout?T-Mobile's prepaid lineup promises MLB.TV, T-Mobile Tuesdays and hotspot data. But do the perks make it worth switching?
-
Crypto Trends to Watch in 2026Cryptocurrency is still less than 20 years old, but it remains a fast-moving (and also maturing) market. Here are the crypto trends to watch for in 2026.
-
Dow Slides 427 Points to Open December: Stock Market TodayThe final month of 2025 begins on a negative note after stocks ended November with a startling rally.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Coca-Cola Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayEven with its reliable dividend growth and generous stock buybacks, Coca-Cola has underperformed the broad market in the long term.
-
If You Put $1,000 into Qualcomm Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You Would Have TodayQualcomm stock has been a big disappointment for truly long-term investors.
-
Amazon Surge Sends S&P 500, Nasdaq Higher to Start November: Stock Market TodayAmazon inked a $38 billion cloud deal with OpenAI, which sent the stock to the top of the Dow Jones on Monday.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Home Depot Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayHome Depot stock has been a buy-and-hold banger for truly long-term investors.
-
What the Rich Know About Investing That You Don'tPeople like Warren Buffett become people like Warren Buffett by following basic rules and being disciplined. Here's how to accumulate real wealth.
-
Dow Adds 516 Points on Broad Optimism: Stock Market TodayEasing trade war tensions and promise from early earnings reports has investors looking on the bright side to start the week.
