US stocks rose on Thursday as the S&P 500 (^GSPC) hit a new record high, staying upbeat amid a second day of closely tracked testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and ahead of Friday’s release of the February jobs report.
Techs took the lead again with the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gaining as much as 1.5%, while the S&P 500 added just more than 1% to hit a record closing high of 5,157.34. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained about 0.3%.
Stocks have risen the past two sessions as the market assessed Powell’s questioning by lawmakers on the economy and monetary policy, which has brought no bad news or surprises. The Fed chief stuck to repeating the message that the central bank is in no hurry to ease policy, though he said rate cuts are likely to come this year.
On Thursday, this time before the Senate Banking Committee, the Fed Chair reiterated the central bank’s intentions on rate cuts, provided inflation data continues to show continued cooling.
On the economic data front Thursday, jobless claims released came in unchanged at 217,000 for the week ending March 2. Continuing claims registered just above 1.9 million, about 8,000 higher from its prior print. The crucial non-farms payroll report is due for release Friday morning.
Meanwhile, gold (GC=F) rose for the fifth day, hitting a fresh high above $2,160 as the prospect of a rate cut gave fresh impetus to the record-setting rally.
Among corporates, shares of Victoria’s Secret (VSCO) plunged almost 30% after the lingerie maker’s sales guidance fell short of expectations.
