Stocks Climb on Hopes of Lower Interest Rates

Economic Indicators - The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) canceled the October consumer price report and will release the November report on December 18, while the October employment report will be included in the November report scheduled for December 16 [1] - The US November MNI Chicago PMI fell by 7.5 points to 36.3, marking the steepest contraction in 17 months and significantly below expectations of 43.6 [1][6] - US September capital goods new orders, excluding defense and aircraft, rose by 0.9% month-over-month, surpassing expectations of 0.3% [2] - Weekly initial unemployment claims unexpectedly fell by 6,000 to a 7-month low of 216,000, indicating a stronger labor market than the anticipated increase to 225,000 [2] Stock Market Performance - The S&P 500 Index rose by 0.49%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index increased by 0.51%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index was up by 0.54% [7] - Strength in semiconductor stocks contributed to market gains, with notable increases in companies like ASML Holding NV and Marvell Technology [12] - Optimism regarding a potential Federal Reserve rate cut is boosting stock prices, with the probability of a rate cut at the December FOMC meeting rising to 81% from 30% [5][7] Corporate Earnings - Q3 earnings for S&P 500 companies showed a 14.6% increase, more than doubling the expected 7.2% year-over-year growth, with 83% of companies exceeding forecasts [8] - Urban Outfitters reported Q3 net sales of $1.53 billion, exceeding the consensus of $1.49 billion, leading to a stock increase of over 12% [13] - Dell Technologies raised its 2026 revenue forecast to $112.2 billion, up from a previous estimate of $105 billion to $109 billion, which was stronger than the consensus of $107.94 billion [14] Company-Specific Developments - Boeing secured a $2.47 billion contract from the US Air Force for additional KC-46A Pegasus tankers, contributing to a stock increase of over 2% [15] - Nutanix's stock fell by more than 17% after reporting Q1 revenue of $670.6 million, which was below the consensus of $676.6 million [17] - Oracle's stock rose by more than 4% as analysts noted that the benefits of OpenAI have not yet been priced into the stock [14]