Investors are making big bets on interest-rate cuts as US stocks continued their upward march on Thursday morning, poised for the best month this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) led with a surge of nearly 200 points, or about 0.6%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) inched up approximately 0.2%.
All three stock gauges are already heading towards new closing highs for November, thanks to growing optimism that the Federal Reserve is finished with hiking interest rates.
Thursday’s release of the PCE index, considered the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, came in line with expectations, further reinforcing the belief that the Fed may soon lower rates.
Inflation took a dip globally as well, with November recording a surprise drop in euro zone inflation to 2.4%. This was in direct defiance of the European Central Bank’s claims that price growth was stubborn.
Commodities, specifically oil prices, also posted gains due to the OPEC+ meeting, which held hopes for a deal on policy with smaller African producers resisting Saudi Arabia and Russia’s push for more supply cuts. WTI (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) crude futures experienced a surge of about 0.7%.
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