U.S. Stocks Boosted by Recovering Technology Shares
Markets turn their focus to Fed, which begins its two-day interest-rate-setting meeting Tuesday
Riva Gold
Updated June 13, 2017 10:04 a.m. ET
By
Riva Gold
A recovery in the shares of technology companies helped lift U.S. stock indexes Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 38 points, or 0.2%, to 21275 shortly after the opening bell. The S&P 500 gained 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Co mposite, which had posted its worst two-day decline since September on Monday, rose 0.6%.
Shares of companies that had slid in the previous two sessions bounced back Tuesday. Apple rose 0.8%, Facebook rose 1.2%, Alphabet added 1.3% and Microsoft gained 0.9%. Semiconductor stocks, which had also fallen through the brief selloff, rose as well, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index adding 1.1%.
Some investors said they weren’t surprised to see stocks that had been hit hard rebound quickly. Corporate earnings have been strong, especially for technology companies, which has helped stocks keep climbing this year. Many investors have viewed short-lived selloffs in the stock market as buying opportunities.
“Valuations had definitely gotten stretched…but every decline of even a couple percent has been met by buying [this year],” said Tom Manning, chief executive at F.L. Putnam Investment Management.
General Electric’s signage is displayed on a monitor on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. The Nasdaq Composite Index posted its worst two-day decline since September.
General Electric’s signage is displayed on a monitor on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. The Nasdaq Composite Index posted its worst two-day decline since September. Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg News
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar and government bonds steadied as the Federal Reserve was set to start its two-day policy meeting. The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of 16 currencies, was down 0.1%, while the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note edged up to 2.221%, according to Tradeweb, from 2.215% Monday. Yields rise as bond prices fall.
With an interest-rate increase on Wednesday almost fully priced in by market participants, investors will be closely watching any commentary on the U.S. central bank’s plans for future rate rises and how it might wind down its balance sheet.
“The Fed looks almost guaranteed to go tomorrow. The question then is the messaging that goes with it,” said Charlie Diebel, head of rates at Aviva Investors. “Growth numbers are decent, but the data have eased back a little bit and what’s not showing up so far is inflation,” he said. “I don’t think they’ll sound like they’re going to be particularly aggressive.”
The Bank of England also meets later this week. The British pound was last up 0.5% against the dollar after data showed U.K. consumer prices rose at the fastest rate in almost four years. Few investors anticipated the data would prompt the Bank of England to act, however, given political and economic uncertainty in the U.K.
“As a policy maker, it’s a perfect conundrum: slowing growth and rising inflation,” Mr. Diebel said.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was recently up 0.7% after posting its lowest close since April on Monday.
Earlier, shares in Asia mostly advanced, recovering from losses following a selloff in U.S. technology giants that weighed on global markets Monday.
Korea’s Kospi Composite Index added 0.7%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.6%, supported by gains in shares of energy companies.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell less than 0.1% following a recent appreciation of the Japanese currency.
—Akane Otani and Kenan Machado contributed to this article.
Write to Riva Gold at
riva.gold@wsj.com