S&P 500 shrugs off signs of consumer jitters to hit fresh record high

The S&P 500 hit fresh record highs Tuesday, shrugging off signs of consumer worries about the economy as an Nvidia led an ongoing rally in tech.  

At 12:50 p.m. ET (1650 GMT), the S&P 500 rose 0.2% after hitting a record high of 5,733.75,  the NASDAQ Composite climbed 0.6%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 8 points, or 0.02%, with latter also hitting a record of 42,281.06 earlier.  Nvidia leads tech higher

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA ) climbed than 4% to add to recent gains, helping the broader tech sector continued its March higher. 

The rally in Nvidia comes amid recent media reports that the chipmaker has stopped taking orders for its H20 chips to comply with the U.S. export ban on semiconductor equipment to China.  Consumer confidence hits three-year low; Fed speakers on watch

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index  fell to a reading of 98.7 from 105.6 in August, the biggest one-day slump since in three years. 

Worries about the the jobs and inflation were the biggest concerns among consumers, according to the survey. 

The signs of jitters from consumers come just as Fed speakers continue to suggest that the path of further rate cuts would be driven by incoming economic data.

U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said Tuesday the Fed would have to proceed with caution on further rate cuts as components of inflation were still  "uncomfortably above" the Fed's 2% target.

Bowman, who was the lone dissenter in the September meeting against the 50bps rate cut, kicks off a week that includes remarks from Chair Jerome Powell as well as other Fed members.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he expected the Fed to slow its pace of future rate cuts after a strong start to the easing cycle, while Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said the economy was nearing normalization faster than expected, although he did not expect the Fed to go on a “mad dash” to cut rates.

The Fed cut rates by the top end of market expectations last week, and the signaled the beginning of an easing cycle that analysts expect to bring rates lower by 125 bps by the end of the year.

PCE price index data - the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge - is due on Friday, and is likely to factor into the Fed’s plans for lower rates. Ahead of that, the Consumer Board consumer confidence index for September is due later in the session. Boeing sweetens its labor deal 

In the corporate sector, Boeing (NYSE:BA ) stock fell 0.9% after the aircraft manufacturer offered a new sweetened labor deal to its more than 30,000 striking workers in the US Pacific Northwest.

The aerospace giant's latest offer includes a 30% general pay bump over four years as well as improvement in retirement benefits and an increased ratification bonus if the workers accept the proposal by Friday. Boeing said it was its "best and final" offer.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE ) stock rose 0.2% despite former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, on Monday threatened the agricultural manufacturer with a "200% tariff" if it moves some production to factories in Mexico.

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)

Source: Investing.com