US stocks rebound as tech shares gain

Wall Street ended sharply higher on Tuesday, as Microsoft and Apple spearheaded a strong rebound in growth stocks and investors await monthly payrolls data later this week that could influence the US Federal Reserve’s decision on when to scale back monetary stimulus.

Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet – Wall Street’s most valuable companies – each rose more than one percent following a selloff in growth stocks the day before. Facebook rebounded 2.1 percent a day after taking a beating when its app and its photo-sharing platform Instagram went offline for hours.

Nine of the eleven major S&P 500 sector indexes rose, with financials, communication services and technology leading the way.

The S&P 500 logged its fourth straight day of one-percent moves in either direction. The last time the index saw that much volatility was in November 2020, when it rose or fell one percent or more for seven straight sessions.

“We’re buying the dip, but the dip isn’t 10 percent anymore. The dip is now two percent, or four percent,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “People are trained like Pavlov’s dog to buy the dip, which is reinforcing all of this.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly one percent to end at 34,315 points, while the S&P 500 gained 1.05 percent to 4,346. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.25% to 14,434.

The Senate will vote on Wednesday on a Democratic-backed measure to suspend the US debt ceiling, a key lawmaker said on Tuesday, as partisan brinkmanship in Congress risks an economically crippling federal credit default.

Investors will also watch September employment data on Friday for hints about the tapering of the US Federal Reserve’s asset purchase program.

Adding to concerns the Fed could tighten monetary policy sooner than expected, recent data showed increased consumer spending, accelerated factory activity and elevated inflation. (Reuters)