- US stocks climbed Thursday, with the Dow on pace for a 14-day winning streak.
- Second-quarter GDP beat expectations, growing at a 2.4% annualized rate.
US stocks opened Thursday in the green as investors digested another rate hike from the Federal Reserve, better-than-expected GDP numbers for the second quarter, and prospects of a historic win-streak for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
On Wednesday, policymakers announced a 25 basis-point rate hike, bringing the federal funds rate to a range of 5.25%-5.5% range. According to CME's FedWatch Tool, traders largely expect this to be the final adjustment of the year.
Jerome Powell said that the central bank no longer expects a recession for the US economy. To that point, second-quarter gross domestic product clocked in higher than expected. Over the last three months, GDP, the sum of all goods and services activity, increased 2.4% annually, better than the consensus 2% Dow Jones estimate.
Meanwhile, should the Dow Jones Industrial Average stay positive through Thursday trading, it would mark the 14th consecutive winning day — the longest streak since 1897, per CNBC.
Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9:30 a.m. on Thursday:
- S&P 500: 4,599.81, up 0.72%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,575.38, up 0.17% (60.18 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 14,313.62, up 1.32%
Here's what else is going on:
- JPMorgan snapped up mortgages worth $1.8 billion as part of its PacWest merger.
- Alaska has boosted its Nvidia bet 50-fold in recent years.
- US stocks are the most expensive versus bonds in 20 years.
- Tim Cook was turned down for an Apple credit card, according to a report.
- Bond King Bill Gross said he's dumping 80% of his regional bank holdings after making "mucho bucks" in three months.
- Homebuilder ETFs are enjoying record returns after a tough 2022.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- Oil prices climbed, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.40% to $79.88 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, inched higher 0.7% to $83.55 a barrel.
- Gold edged lower 0.70% to $1,956.00 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher by five basis points to 3.905%.
- Bitcoin moved higher 0.34% to $29,461.01.