Dow rises 500 points as Fed-fuel stocks set sights on records

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• Thursday, September 19, 2024 10:47 AM EDT

  Stocks are nearing session highs as technicals fuel the post-rate-cut price slide

  Stocks rose Thursday morning as the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) led market gains following the Federal Reserve’s rate cut announcement in the previous session.

  The Nasdaq gained as much as 2.7% as tech stocks, which generally benefit from a low interest rate environment, rose.

  The Dow (^DJI) rose more than 1% to hit an all-time intraday high, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) hit a record in early trade.

  

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  Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. EDT

  Existing home sales fall in August amid low mortgage rates

  Existing home sales fell in August as house hunters were put on the sidelines, despite mortgage rates hitting their lowest level in a year.

  Existing home sales fell 2.5% from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.86 million. National Association of Realtors Thursday, the lowest since October. Existing home sales are expected to hit 3.9 million in August, according to a poll by Bloomberg.

  On a year-over-year basis, sales of previously owned homes retreated 4.2% in August. The median home price rose 3.1% from last August to $416,700, the 14th straight month of annual price gains.

  A combination of scarce inventory, rising prices and elevated mortgage rates continues to weigh on sales activity — for now.

  “Home sales disappointed again in August, but the recent development of low mortgage rates and rising inventories is a powerful combination that should boost sales in the coming months,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a press release. .

  However, economists Fannie Mae Don’t expect sales activity to pick up this year despite low mortgage rates.

  “We expect existing home sales to slow in 2024 to the slowest annual pace since 1995,” they said.

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  Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 9:54 am EDT

  Chasing growth, Campbells has been battling private labels and big-name competitors.

  Brooke DiPalma of Yahoo Finance reports:

  With products ranging from stuffing-flavored chips to ghost pepper chicken noodle soup, companies are ramping up competition in the grocery aisles.

  While retailers like Walmart ( WMT ) and Target ( TGT ) are pushing ahead with private labels, Campbell’s ( CPB ) is doubling down on innovation, marketing and increased distribution to sell popular brands like Goldfish.

  “It all comes down to … creating the right value [is] It’s not just about one price point,” CEO Mark Clouse told Yahoo Finance last week at Campbell’s Investor Day. “It’s about, how do we add value in more differentiated and sustainable ways?”

  Read more here.

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  Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 9:31 am EDT

  Dow, S&P 500 hit intraday record highs as jumbo rate cut lifts stocks

  The Dow (^DJI) and S&P 500 (^GSPC) hit record highs on Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s announcement of a 50-basis-point rate cut earlier in the session.

  The S&P 500 rose nearly 1.7%, while the Dow gained more than 1%, both hitting record highs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) gained more than 2.3%.

  Key averages were seen during the previous session following the central bank’s decision to cut rates.

  Gold (CG=F) hit an all-time high. Precious metals and other commodities rose as the dollar weakened