Stocks rose Wednesday as Wall Street looked to construct on what has been a positive begin to 2023.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 97 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 gained 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 1%.
The moves come after the Nasdaq clinched its first three-day winning streak since November Tuesday. Investors picked up battered technology stocks amid growing hope for a change in fact within the Federal Reserve’s rate of interest hike campaign. A positive close on Wednesday would mark its first four-day rally since September.
The rally marks a turn from 2022, when the composite dropped 33.1% as concerns over a possible recession pushed investors to prioritize value over growth stocks.
“As we catch up with to the tip of this rate of interest hike campaign that the Fed is doing, tech stocks should rally,” said Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group. “Let’s just face it: Last yr they got creamed, so there are investors that want to select up some bargains.”
2023 has brought a relief rally to this point for more dangerous areas of the market, comparable to tech, but many investors are still cautious ahead of earnings season and further expected rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. All three averages are positive for the young yr.
Investors are gearing up for the buyer price index on Thursday, which economists polled by Dow Jones expect to indicate prices cooled by a modest 0.1% in December from the prior month. The forecast still calls for a 6.5% increase from the prior yr. Excluding food and energy prices, economists expect the CPI for December will probably be 0.3% higher than the prior month and 5.7% higher than a yr ago.
Big bank quarterly results will follow on Friday, kicking off a recent earnings season.