Wall Street rallies ahead of Fed meeting as tech buying punctuates volatile trade

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 14, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes ended a swing session higher on Monday, as investors bought technology names in the last hour of trading on bets they were overly beaten ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

A meeting of US central bank policy makers is widely expected to raise interest rates by half a percentage point, with this week’s move expected to start a period of sharp rate increases to counter inflation.

The tension heading into the meeting was reflected in a volatile session of US stocks. After positive moves to start the day, the S&P 500 fell to its lowest intraday point since May 2021, and the Nasdaq touched a level last seen in November 2020.

Tensions were also seen in the US Treasury bond market, where the 10-year benchmark crossed 3% for the first time in more than three years.

In addition to preparing for an expected interest rate hike, traders were also looking to launch “quantitative tightening,” as the central bank cuts its balance sheet after buying bonds to support the economy during the pandemic. Read more

However, the previous dips were used as a buying opportunity by some in the latter part of the session to pull the three indicators into positive territory.

“We are now at a point in the market where a lot of it, across different sectors, is taking a beating,” said Silvia Jablonsky, chief investment officer at the Defiance ETF.

“I think the market has set what the Fed will be able to do, so my sense – as someone who likes to look for long-term opportunities – is that this is the land of opportunity right now.”

Jablonsky referred to the big tech names, which will remain key parts of the economy for years to come, as “for sale.”

High-growth stocks like tech have fallen this year as traders adjust to a higher interest rate environment, with losses mounting in recent days due to a number of disappointing earnings reports.

However, Facebook Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O) It rose 5.3% on Monday after falling 9.8% last month. nvidia company (NVDA.O) It also jumped 5.3%, while Microsoft (MSFT.O) It gained 2.5% after sharp declines in April.

Having spent most of the day in the red, Tesla Inc (TSLA.O)Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Apple (AAPL.O) Everyone closed between 0.2% and 3.7% higher.

Apple was weighed heavily on Monday as the iPhone maker faced a potentially heavy fine after European Union antitrust regulators accused it of restricting competitors’ access to its technology used in mobile wallets. Read more

Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) The Standard & Poor’s Index rose 84.29 points, or 0.26%, to 33.061.5 points (.SPX) It rose 23.45 points, or 0.57%, to 4,155.38 points, and the Nasdaq Composite (nineteenth) It added 201.38 points, or 1.63%, to 12536.02 points.

Among the 11 sectors of Standard & Poor’s, telecommunications services (.SPLRCL) It was the biggest gainer among the six indices that gained. Real estate (.SPLRCR) Led losers.

Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) It fell 1.5% after a large trial found that oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 was not effective in preventing coronavirus infection in people who live with someone who has the virus. Read more

Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) It rose 3.3% after Warren Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) It acquired a 9.5% stake in the “Call of Duty” game maker. Read more

Spirit Airlines (Save. N) It fell 9.4% after the budget airline rejected JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O) A takeover bid of $33 a share, saying it has little prospect of gaining approval from government regulators. Read more

By comparison, JetBlue finished up 2.6%, regaining ground it lost during the midday swing that wiped out initial gains.

Volume on US exchanges was 13.22 billion shares, compared to an average of 11.87 billion for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

The S&P 500 hit a new 52-week high and 52 new low; The Nasdaq recorded 26 new highs and 503 new lows.

(Covering) By David French in New York and Devik Jain in Bengaluru Editing by Shonak Dasgupta and Matthew Lewis

Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.