Wall Street Close: S&P 500, Nasdaq mark record closing, Dow eases

• US stocks end mixed on Thursday as softer yields underpin cautious buying.
• Firmer US data battles mixed Fedspeak amid a light calendar.
• Nvidia, Macy’s please bulls, Cisco Systems probes advances.

US equity markets witnessed a mild improvement in trading sentiment, despite printing a mixed daily performance for Thursday. The reason could be linked to the strong US data and comments from the Fed policymakers, as well as a pullback in the US inflation expectations and the Treasury yields.

Amid these plays, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped for the second consecutive day, down 0.17% or 60 points to 35,870. On the contrary, S&P 500 and Nasdaq refresh record close while flashing 4,706 and 15,993 respectively by the end of the day’s trading.

The US inflation expectations can be linked as the key catalysts. US inflation expectations, as measured by the 10-year breakeven inflation rate per the St. Louis Federal Reserve (FRED) data, drop for the second consecutive day for Wednesday.

Further, NY Fed President and FOMC Vice-Chair John Williams highlighted inflation fears and pushed for rate action but mixed comments from Chicago Fed President Charles Evans poured cold water on the face of policy hawks. Additionally, the favorable prints of the US weekly job numbers and monthly regional manufacturing data confused the equity bulls and so do the second day of downside by the 10-year Treasury yields.

Stock-specific details suggest that Macy’s surged over 20% and Kohl’s also rose 10% on firmer annual earnings guidances while Nvidia jumped around 8.2% after Q3 earnings rallied. On the contrary, Cisco Systems couldn’t cheer upbeat earnings as sales rose less than expected amid supply chain concerns.

Looking forward, a light calendar keeps focus on the Fed rate hike talks and inflation chatters as the key catalysts, not to forget the earnings.

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