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Indexes up: Dow 0.93%, S&P 500 0.58%, Nasdaq 0.54%
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Nike ( NKE ) rises after better-than-expected Q1 revenue forecast
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UBS lifts S&P 500 index's target on fading trade tensions
(Updates with afternoon trading levels)
By Kanchana Chakravarty and Nikhil Sharma
June 27 (Reuters) -
Wall Street's main indexes rose on Friday, pushing the S&P
500 and the Nasdaq to intraday record highs as investors pinned
their hopes on deeper interest-rate cuts and the U.S. striking
deals with its biggest trading partners.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both
rose more than 0.5%, surpassing their previous peaks touched in
February and December, respectively. The Nasdaq looked on course
to confirm a bull market, having recovered more than 20% from a
trough in April.
"I think the driver for that momentum clearly is the
dissipation of concerns over the magnitude of tariffs. That was
the biggest concern in the early April time frame and I think
that headwind seems to be dissipating a bit," said Art Hogan,
chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.
Adding to the upbeat sentiment, Washington reached an
agreement with China on expediting rare-earth shipments to the
United States, a White House official said, days ahead of the
July 9 deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal"
tariffs.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump
administration's trade deals with other countries could be done
by Labor Day, citing the country's 18 main trading partners.
Investors are focusing on the interest-rate trajectory after
the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump toyed with the idea
of announcing U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's
replacement by September or October.
Data on Friday showed U.S. consumer spending
fell
unexpectedly in May as the boost from consumers
preemptively buying goods such as motor vehicles ahead of
tariffs faded, while monthly inflation rose moderately,
supporting bets for rate cuts.
Traders now price in a 20.7% chance of a rate cut in July,
compared with 14.5% last week, according to CME Group's FedWatch
tool.
At 11:28 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
rose 403.09 points, or 0.93%, to 43,789.88, the S&P 500
gained 36.14 points, or 0.58%, to 6,177.16, and the Nasdaq
Composite added 108.05 points, or 0.54%, to 20,275.96.
Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Energy
stocks were the only laggards, falling 0.5%.
Shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ), the world's most valuable
company, rose 1.8% to touch a record high, while other
tech-heavyweights including Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Apple ( AAPL )
added 1.1% and 0.2%, respectively.
The benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq
were on track for their best weekly performance in more
than a month, while the blue-chip Dow was set for a
weekly advance, if gains hold.
UBS Global Wealth Management raised its year-end target for
the S&P 500 to 6,200 from its prior forecast of 6,000, banking
on softening trade uncertainty.
Nike's ( NKE ) shares jumped 15.8% after it forecast a
smaller-than-expected drop in first-quarter revenue.
Retailer Lululemon Athletica ( LULU ) rose 1.6% after Nike's ( NKE )
results, while Hoka-owner Deckers Outdoor ( DECK ) added 2.7%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.01-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.26-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 27 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 70 new highs and 34
new lows.