- Stocks climbed higher on hopes of rate cuts and trade easing, with the S&P 500 a few points shy of its record close in February.
The U.S.’s major stock index closed within a hair of its record high set in February, climbing on investors’ hopes that rate cuts and tariff relief are coming sooner than expected.
The S&P 500 gained 0.8%, closing at 6,141—just below its record 6,144 set in February. The Dow rose 0.97%, or 194 points, and the Nasdaq gained 0.94%.
Economic reports released Thursday showed a mixed picture at best. The U.S.’s first-quarter economic contraction was steeper than initially thought, according to a Commerce Department report, and the number of people claiming jobless aid was the highest in three and a half years. Durable goods orders, a proxy for manufacturing activity, showed an uptick in May, driven by a deal between Boeing and Qatar Airways.
But it was vibes more than data that drove the equity surge. The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump was looking to name a successor to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell earlier than expected, creating the possibility of interest rate cuts happening earlier than expected. Trump has put pressure on Powell to cut rates, despite the Fed chair’s steady wait-and-see approach.
Two members of the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting committee recently split with Powell and spoke out in favor of rate cuts.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also hinted on Thursday that Trump’s tariff pause could extend past a previously stated July 9 deadline, calling it “not critical” for trade deals.
“It’s been an absence of bad news,” Nelson Yu, head of equities at AllianceBernstein, told Fortune. “You’ve got the Middle East conflict starting to settle down, it seems like it’s going in the right direction, and conventional wisdom has it that Trump’s not going to do anything to disrupt tariff policy come July 9.”
Treasury yields fell on the news. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 4.24% from 4.29% late Wednesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed’s rate actions, fell to 3.71%.