(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Producer prices rise in September on higher energy costs
* U.S. policy rate may need to rise further – Fed’s Bowman
* Exxon to buy shale rival Pioneer for nearly $60 bln
* Indexes mixed: Dow flat, S&P up 0.09%, Nasdaq up 0.38%
Oct 11 (Reuters) – The Nasdaq rose on Wednesday as
easing long-term U.S. Treasury yields boosted megacap stocks,
while investors shrugged off hotter-than-expected inflation data
and awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy
meeting.
U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in
September amid higher costs for energy products, but underlying
inflation pressures at the factory gate continued to moderate.
Yield on the benchmark 10-year notes fell to a roughly
two-week low as prices rose on safe-haven flows due to fighting
in the Middle East that has persisted for a fifth straight day.
“The massive increase in bond yields in the last few weeks
has clearly tightened financing conditions,” said Raphael
Olszyna-Marzys, international economist at J Safra Sarasin.
“If this tightening is sustained, then the Fed itself
doesn’t have to increase rates further given that the market is
doing the Fed’s job.”
Megacap stocks Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet
, Tesla, Nvidia and Meta Platforms
advanced between 0.3% and 1.7%.
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman repeated her view that the U.S.
central bank will probably need to tighten monetary policy
further, while Fed Governor Christopher Waller said the central
bank is in a position to watch and see what happens with
interest rates.
Focus will now be on minutes from the Fed’s September
meeting at 2 p.m. ET and Thursday’s consumer inflation data for
clues on the interest rate outlook.
For the day, real estate and communication
services were the top S&P 500 sector gainers.
Energy stocks were the worst hit, hurt by a 4.6%
fall in Exxon Mobil as the oil and gas producer agreed
to buy rival Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock
deal valued at $59.5 billion. Pioneer was up 1.0%.
At 11:54 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
was down 2.08 points, or 0.01%, at 33,737.22, the S&P 500
was up 3.99 points, or 0.09%, at 4,362.23, and the Nasdaq
Composite was up 50.91 points, or 0.38%, at 13,613.76.
Meanwhile, the conflict in Middle East raged on as Israel
pounded Gaza to root out Hamas and deployed forces north of the
densely populated Palestinian enclave, where the militants said
they were still fighting after their cross-border assault.
Israel’s death toll rose to 1,200 with over 2,700 wounded,
its military said, while retaliatory strikes on the blockaded
enclave have killed 1,055 people and wounded 5,184, according to
Gaza’s Hamas authorities.
The debut of German luxury sandal maker Birkenstock Holding
on the New York Stock Exchange will also be keenly
watched. The company’s shares are indicated to open in the range
of $39 to $41 versus its IPO price of $46.
Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 1.4% after the
pharmacy chain operator said it has appointed Tim Wentworth as
its new chief executive.
Drugmaker Eli Lilly gained 3.8% following the early
success of Danish rival Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic in a
trial to treat kidney failure, while dialysis firms DaVita
and Baxter International slumped 18.8% and 9.0%,
respectively.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.51-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE, while declining issues outnumbered advancers for a
1.10-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 11 new 52-week highs and seven new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 38 new highs and 124 new lows.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru;
Editing by Arun Koyyur and Shounak Dasgupta)
