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Micron, Lennar ( LEN ) fall after results
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Banks firm as U.S. bond yields rise
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Q3 GDP revised higher
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Indexes up: Dow 0.56%, S&P 500 0.48%, Nasdaq 0.52%
(Updates to mid-afternoon trading)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on
Thursday, bouncing modestly from a sharp drop in the prior
session after the Federal Reserve forecasts fewer-than-expected
interest rate cuts and higher inflation next year.
Economic data seemed to back up the Fed's view, with weekly
initial jobless claims falling more than expected while gross
domestic product for the third quarter was revised to show a
3.1% increase from the previously reported 2.8% pace.
"It clearly sent a message that rates weren't going to keep
going down if inflation didn't continue its decline, and we've
seen inflation tick up a bit here, and that's a concern to the
Fed," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls
& Snyder in New York.
"Today you would have expected, given the sell-off and the
sharpness of it, you'd see a bounce today, and we are seeing
one, it just isn't with a lot of conviction here."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 235.23
points, or 0.56%, to 42,561.75, the S&P 500 gained 28.11
points, or 0.48%, to 5,900.05 and the Nasdaq Composite
gained 99.50 points, or 0.52%, to 19,492.13.
The Dow was on track to snap a ten-session losing skid, its
longest streak since 1974.
The Dow and S&P 500 suffered their biggest one-day
percentage drop since early August, while the Nasdaq suffered
its biggest daily fall since July after the Fed on Wednesday
said it expects to make just two 25 basis point cuts in 2025,
half a percentage point less than its September forecast for the
first year of the new Trump administration.
Traders now see just one quarter-point rate reduction by
mid-2025, and see less than two cuts in total by the end of the
year, compared with last week's expectations of three rate cuts.
Longer-dated Treasury yields were higher after the economic
data, with the benchmark 10-year note reaching a
near 7-month high of 4.594%.
The CBOE volatility index, Wall Street's fear gauge,
eased to 23.22 points after hitting a five-month high of 28.32 a
day earlier.
Bank stocks rose 0.6% as a rise in yields tends to
improve the profitability of lenders, while the incoming Trump
administration is expected to loosen regulations on the sector.
Micron slumped 16.5% following its forecast of
quarterly revenue and profit below estimates.
Homebuilder Lennar ( LEN ) lost 4.6% after reporting
fourth-quarter results below estimates, pulling the PHLX housing
index down by 2.1%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.44-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE but advancers outnumber decliners by a 1.02-to-1
ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted two new 52-week highs and 39 new lows,
while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 27 new highs and 242 new
lows.