S&P 500 lifts as Wall St seeks stability amid September turbulence

The S&P 500 marked its second consecutive winning session on Tuesday as Wall Street worked to stabilise during a turbulent September.

The broad market index gained 0.45 per cent, closing at 5,495.52, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.84 per cent to settle at 17,025.88. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 92.63 points, or 0.23 per cent, ending the day at 40,736.96.

Turning to US sectors, most closed higher overnight. Real Estate was the best performer, followed by Consumer Discretionary and then Technology. Energy and Financials closed in the red.

Nvidia provided a boost to both the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq, closing 1.5 per cent higher. AMD and Microsoft also saw gains. Tech stocks, which have struggled recently, saw some recovery, though the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) has still dropped around 7 per cent this quarter. This pullback comes amid growing concerns about the economy, leading many investors to offload high-performing tech stocks.

Bank stocks weighed on the broader market, with shares of JPMorgan declining more than 5 per cent after the company offered cautious guidance on net interest income for 2025 at an industry conference. JPMorgan was the biggest loser among the Dow’s 30 stocks.

Ally Financial shares plummeted 17 per cent, marking their worst decline since March 2020, following a warning from CFO Russell Hutchinson about increased credit challenges. Hutchinson indicated that higher living costs and inflation are affecting borrowers, with auto loans for retail customers being the primary concern.

In earnings news, cloud platform giant Oracle surged more than 11 per cent after beating fiscal first-quarter expectations and announcing a new partnership with Amazon Web Services to provide database services.

Traders are now focusing on two key upcoming economic reports that could serve as catalysts for the stock market. The consumer price index (CPI) for August is due on Wednesday, followed by the producer price index (PPI) on Thursday. Investors are hopeful that an anticipated rate cut during the Federal Reserve’s Sept. 17-18 meeting will help alleviate concerns surrounding the weakening economy.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are set to face off in their first, and possibly only, debate later this morning. Recent polls show a tight race, with a New York Times/Siena College poll indicating Trump leading Harris 48 per cent to 47 per cent, while RealClearPolitics' average shows Harris with a slight 1.4-point lead, which has plateaued or slightly declined since she assumed the Democratic ticket from President Joe Biden.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.1 per cent gain.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7.25am was buying 66.53 US cents.

Commodities

Gold added 0.41 per cent. Silver lost 0.13 per cent. Copper fell 1.12 per cent. Oil dropped 4.31 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed lower. London’s FTSE fell 0.78 per cent, Frankfurt lost 0.96 per cent, and Paris closed 0.24 per cent lower.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.16 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.22 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.28 per cent higher.

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.30 per cent higher at 8012.

Ex-dividends
Accent Group Ltd (ASX:AX1) is paying 4.5 cents fully franked
Adairs Limited (ASX:ADH) is paying 7 cents fully franked
Brambles Limited (ASX:BXB) is paying 28.9 cents 35 per cent franked
CUE Energy Resource (ASX:CUE) is paying 1 cent unfranked
Dusk Group (ASX:DSK) is paying 4 cents fully franked
EVT Limited (ASX:EVT) is paying 20 cents fully franked
Finbar Group Limited (ASX:FRI) is paying 8 cents fully franked
Glennon SML Co Ltd (ASX:GC1) is paying 2 cents unfranked
Hearts and Minds (ASX:HM1) is paying 7.5 cents fully franked
Idp Education Ltd (ASX:IEL) is paying 9 cents 61 per cent franked
IGO Limited (ASX:IGO) is paying 26 cents fully franked
IVE Group (ASX:IGL) is paying 8.5 cents fully franked
Kogan.Com Ltd (ASX:KGN) is paying 7.5 cents fully franked
Lgi limited (ASX:LGI) is paying 1.3 cents fully franked
Mercury NZ Limited (ASX:MCY) is paying 12.7354 cents unfranked
Pepper Money (ASX:PPM) is paying 5 cents fully franked
Pm Capital Fund (ASX:PGF) is paying 5.5 cents fully franked
Qualitas Limited (ASX:QAL) is paying 5.75 cents fully franked

Dividends payable
Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX:DHG)
Eumundi Group Ltd (ASX:EBG)
Reef Casino Trust (ASX:RCT)
Sequoia Financial Group Ltd (ASX:SEQ)

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap, Marketech.
Disclaimer

The views, opinions or recommendations of the commentators in this presentation are solely those of the author and do not in any way reflect the views, opinions, recommendations, of Sequoia Financial Group Limited ABN 90 091 744 884 and its related bodies corporate (“SEQ”). SEQ makes no representation or warranty with respect to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the content. Any prices published are accurate subject to the time of filming and shouldn’t be relied upon to make a financial decision. Commentators may hold positions in stocks mentioned and companies may pay FNN to produce the content at times. The content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Independent advice should be obtained from an Australian Financial Services Licensee before making investment decisions. To the extent permitted by law, SEQ excludes all liability for any loss or damage arising in any way including by way of negligence.
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