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Business Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
What traders have gotten wrong in 2025
[LONDON] Six months since Wall Street laid out its predictions for 2025, world conflicts and US President Donald Trump's turbulent policy making have shattered assumptions about the strength and pre-eminence of US assets and the economy, leaving market favourites in tatters and conjuring unexpected winners. As foreseen: swings in sovereign bond markets have been sharp, the Japanese yen rallied, and a comeback for emerging markets is finally materialising. At the same time, few envisaged the US dollar – the emblem of US exceptionalism – would suffer losses this deep, or predicted the S&P 500's giddying plunge followed by breakneck rebound. Europe's stock market, meanwhile, has morphed from backwater into investor must-have. A 'very significant evolution' has occurred in markets in the past six months, said Simon Dangoor, head of fixed income macro strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. 'Any themes that you were playing for at the start of the year that were about medium-term trends have been tested.' Here's a look into a group of assets and how they performed so far this year: US dollar Trump's low-tax, high-tariff policies were expected to stoke inflation and reduce the chances of interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve – factors seen propelling the US dollar's supremacy well into 2025. Instead, a Bloomberg gauge of the currency posted its worst start to a year since at least 2005, and its hegemony is being debated ever more fiercely. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The 'Liberation Day' tariffs at the start of April were so sweeping and punitive that they fuelled fears of a US recession and fanned speculation that Trump was seeking to buoy domestic manufacturing by engineering a weaker US dollar. That's a dangerous game: the US depends on foreign investors to buy its mountainous debt pile, and a weaker greenback erodes returns on those bonds. Societe Generale, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase had not expected a turn in the US dollar's fortunes in the first half and only predicted gradual slippage later in the year. Now, a JPMorgan team led by Meera Chandan says the greenback's faltering link to rates and equities could be a sign of structural weaknesses. They predict a gauge of the US currency's strength will drop another 2 per cent by year-end. US stocks Investors entered the year with a record high allocation to US stocks, emboldened by a robust economy and bets around artificial intelligence (AI). That optimism was all but abandoned within months, first as Chinese startup DeepSeek challenged the US's dominance in the AI race, and later on fears that Trump's tariffs would tip the economy into a recession. Nearly US$7 trillion of market capitalisation was wiped from the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index between a February peak and an April low. A Bank of America fund manager survey showed the biggest-ever drop in exposure to US stocks in March. By early April, US equity bulls were in short supply. But Trump's decision later that month to pause some of the highest tariffs in a century proved pivotal. The S&P 500 hit a record high as data show the economy chugging along and with technology heavyweights in vogue again. After months of ructions and tempered forecasts, Wall Street strategists are taking an optimistic tone on US stocks for the second half. 'I am as bullish on US stocks as ever,' said Marija Veitmane, a senior multi-asset strategist at State Street Global Markets. 'They still offer the best earnings story with the fastest growth and most predictability. Institutional investors restarted buying in mid-April and have not looked back since.' Asian currencies With the Bank of Japan prepared to raise interest rates at a time when peers were cutting, traders started 2025 confident they'd see a rally in the yen. JPMorgan Asset Management and Brandywine Global Investment Management were among those proved right by the currency's almost 9 per cent surge against the US dollar to around 145 this year. The yen got a further boost in April from surging demand for haven assets amid the confusion around Trump's tariffs. Jupiter Asset Management's Mark Nash, who positioned for the rally in January, forecasts the currency will climb to 120 per US dollar by year-end, an advance of around 17 per cent from current levels. In China, meanwhile, US trade tariffs were expected to hurt the yuan, but so far the US dollar's own sharp sell-off has upended the prediction. In December, Nomura called for the yuan to weaken to 7.6 per US dollar in offshore trading by May, and JPMorgan saw a rate of 7.5 in the second quarter. Instead, the yuan has surged 1.8 per cent this year, hitting 7.1565 per US dollar on Thursday (Jun 26) – the highest level in seven months – as the People's Bank of China strengthened the daily reference rate. Still, strategists say the yuan will eventually have to fall, given strains in the Chinese economy that may require monetary and fiscal easing in the second half of the year to lift growth. 'China will want to utilise the yuan as a release valve, as well as to maintain competitiveness given the ongoing pressure on the economy and the fact that exports remain the main engine of growth,' Barclays Bank strategists Mitul Kotecha and Lemon Zhang wrote in a Jun 24 note. They see the yuan weakening to 7.20 per US dollar by the end of the year, and to 7.25 by March 2026. Global bonds Amid the turbulence, many investors were grateful for one trade that 'saved their bacon', according to Jared Noering, global head of fixed income trading at NatWest Markets. Short-dated government bonds were expected to perform well, boosted by central bank interest-rate cuts as inflation eased further. In contrast, long-dated bonds were predicted to come under pressure as governments took on increasing levels of debt to plug deepening fiscal deficits and ramped up public spending. Wagers structured around this divergence have largely played out around the globe, including in the US, where markets remain on edge over the administration's tax and spending plans. Measures of the so-called term premium in longer-dated US Treasuries have soared in an indication buyers are demanding higher compensation for rampant borrowing. Pimco and Allspring Global Investments correctly predicted the divergence in short- and longer-term yields in global bond markets. BlackRock Investment Institute was also correct to underweight long-term Treasuries. European stocks It was hard to find fans of European equities at the start of the year, let alone investors betting they would outshine their US peers. Six months on, fears about a sluggish economy and the threat of tariffs have been offset by Germany's plans to unleash hundreds of billions of euros in defence spending after Trump demanded Europe foots its own military bill instead of relying on the martial heft of the US. As at Jun 27, the benchmark Stoxx 600 index had trounced the S&P 500 by 16 percentage points in US dollar terms, the best relative performance since 2006. The euro has surged to US$1.17, bucking widespread forecasts for parity with the US dollar in early 2025. Beata Manthey, Citigroup's head of European and global equity strategy, was among the rare voices to back European stocks late last year. Targets at JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs proved too cautious. Goldman's chief global equity strategist, Peter Oppenheimer, said much has changed: 'Very aggressive tariffs are not likely to be fully implemented.' Emerging-market comeback Every year since 2017, emerging-market equities have lagged US stocks. In 2025, a procession of money managers, with Morgan Stanley among the most vocal, were convinced it was going to be different. And so far, the jinx appears to have been broken. A boom in AI companies from Taiwan, South Korea and China has helped the equity index. But the overall investment case for emerging markets is underpinned by broad currency strength against the greenback and the perception that the period of US exceptionalism is waning. Emerging markets have added US$1.8 trillion to shareholder wealth in 2025, reaching a record market capitalisation of US$29 trillion. Bernd Berg, a strategist at InTouch Capital Markets, expects those inflows to continue thanks to benign inflation and decent growth rates. 'The geopolitical tensions have not derailed this rally,' Berg said. In individual developing markets, Turkey's lira took a hit in March, tumbling to a record low in the space of half an hour, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan detained his main political rival. That spooked investors who'd borrowed funds in countries where interest rates were low and ploughed the cash into high-yielding lira-denominated assets. They feared the political shock could eventually herald changes in the country's market-friendly economic policy and high central-bank interest rates. While the broader fears have not materialised, investors are wary, with Pimco among those trimming exposure to Turkish bonds. Meanwhile, the failure of Trump's push for peace between Russia and Ukraine has seen the price of Ukrainian bonds slump. Once a favourite investor bet on a ceasefire, Ukrainian warrants, which have interest payments linked to economic growth, have tumbled since the government defaulted on a payment. BLOOMBERG
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
European stocks have surged in the first half. How will they perform for the rest of 2025?
European shares surged in the first half of the year, massively outperforming stocks on Wall Street — but market watchers are divided on the potential for the trend to continue. As of Friday's close, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index has gained 7% so far this year. Germany's DAX index has surged 20% year-to-date, while the FTSE 100 is up 7.7%, Italy's FTSE MIB has gained 16%, and Spain's IBEX 35 has risen around 20%. That marks a major outperformance in comparison to U.S. stocks. During the same period, the S & P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite have both added around 5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up by 3%. .STOXX YTD line Have European stocks got further to run? It is relatively rare for European stocks to rally by more than 6.6% in the first half of the year. The Stoxx Europe 600 index has risen 16 times, in 38 years, in such a manner since 1987. On average, when stocks do rally like they have in 2025, they return a mere 4.1% in the second half, according to CNBC's analysis. However, there's good news for investors. When stocks rallied in the second half, after a bumper performance in the first half, they went up by 11%. On the five occasions when stocks lost value in the second half, they fell by 9%. Wall Street's view Looking at the fundamentals, though, asset managers and analysts are also bullish for the second half of 2025. In its mid-year outlook report, Goldman Sachs Asset Management said that although the bull run in Europe had been driven in part by a diversification away from U.S. assets, the shift "isn't just about U.S. concerns." "Europe looks appealing, and many investment opportunities are emerging across sectors in the region," GSAM analysts said in the report. "Our primary focus is on identifying companies whose business are most likely to generate resilient earnings and high returns on capital." Fiscal policies across the region, like historic debt reform in Germany and a commitment from NATO members – most of whom are European nations – to drastically hike defense spending , are creating investment opportunities in defense, energy and infrastructure, they argued. "We see potential opportunities in the equity markets across geographies and sectors — including Europe and small caps, among others," they said. "Globally, companies with key differentiators and pricing power may have enhanced appeal in a world of higher tariffs." Within Europe, GSAM said it was identifying companies with strong ties to defense spending. "Europe's equity market, which has high financial and industrial sector weightings, offers useful diversification for portfolios allocated to US equities," they added. 'Substantial and lasting change' Frédérique Carrier, head of investment strategy for RBC Wealth Management in the British Isles and Asia, agrees that there are opportunities to be found across Europe. In her mid-year outlook report, Carrier argued that structural changes in Europe had the potential to pave the way for "substantial and lasting change." "The MSCI EMU (Economic and Monetary Union) Index, a proxy for European equities, trades at a price-to-earnings valuation of 15.4x 12-months forward consensus earnings forecast, roughly in line with its long-term average. It also trades at a discount to U.S. equities even on a sector-adjusted basis," she said. Carrier said RBC preferred sectors in Europe that were likely to benefit from new fiscal stimulus. Those included certain industrials, like defense and materials, as well as some financial stocks. "In our view, banks should benefit from the region's improved medium-term growth outlook and a steeper yield curve, while continuing to offer attractive shareholder returns via dividends and share buybacks," she said. "We are mindful that sectors subject to tariffs as well as those exposed to a strong currency are less likely to outperform." 'Time for a little more caution' However, some market watchers are making a case for taking a more wary approach to global equities, particularly those listed in Europe. "We as a team think it's time for a little bit of more caution at this stage, because the reality of the economic outlook over the next six months or so is that of the effect of tariffs still coming through," Julius Bendikas, European head of economics and dynamic asset allocation at Mercer, told CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" on Friday. "The hard data, in our view, is likely to turn sooner rather than later. The labor markets are still gradually cooling, so the economic fundamentals are a little bit softer, the valuations look a little bit stretched, and while the market technicals have been fairly bullish at this stage, I think the fundamental picture is still a bit softer." While he acknowledged European equities' outperformance in the first half of the year, Bendikas said he did not see a case for continuing to favor regional stocks. "I wouldn't be calling an overweight or underweight of Europe versus U.S., but we do think that playing [the] Europe narrative still very much via the euro is the best expression at this stage, and therefore would still advocate for euro versus dollar weight," he told CNBC. "But on the equities side, I would say we argue for neutrality." He also recommended favoring fixed income over equities, naming U.K. government bonds – known as gilts – "the asset class of most interest." Meanwhile, Bank of America strategists also remain bearish on European equities. In a Friday note to clients, BoA's Sebastian Raedler, Thomas Pearce and Andreas Bruckner acknowledged that the economic growth story for the euro area is improving, but said they were "sceptical about clear-cut upside this year" as German fiscal stimulus would take time. "We expect global growth to slow on tariff-related pressures, which should lift European equity risk premia and lower earnings," they added. "We stay negative on EU equities." They said their projections implied a 10% downside ahead for the Stoxx 600. "German fiscal beneficiaries have started to roll over, including defence and construction, but utilities, connected to German stimulus via climate and energy transition plans, have continued to outperform, with the sector's price relative up 24% since February and starting to overshoot their key macro drivers," they added. "As a consequence, we lower utilities from overweight to marketweight."
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Goldman Sachs Launches 2 New Active Bond ETFs
Goldman Sachs Asset Management launched two new active bond exchange-traded funds on Thursday as more investors look for active management in the convenient ETF wrapper. The Goldman Sachs Core Bond ETF (GBND) aims to provide both capital appreciation and income by investing primarily across U.S. investment-grade fixed-income securities, including government bonds, securitized assets and corporate bonds. It's designed to serve as a foundational, diversified fixed-income solution and will be managed by the firm's multi-sector fixed-income team, according to a press release. The $20 million fund has a management fee of 0.25%. The Goldman Sachs Corporate Bond ETF (GIGL) also aims to offer investors both capital appreciation and income, but it focuses on investment-grade corporate bonds: At least 80% of assets are typically invested in corporate bonds, though it can also invest elsewhere, including in U.S. government fixed-income securities and high-yield non-investment-grade securities. The $11.3 million fund, which is managed by Goldman Sachs's global corporate credit team and seeks to track the performance of the Bloomberg U.S. Credit Index, has a 0.29% management fee. GBND and GIGL came about as a result of investor demand for active strategies in fixed income, Brendan McCarthy, global head of ETF distribution at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, told 'Specifically, we hear acknowledgement that an active style provides the manager greater opportunity to deliver performance through security selection, sector rotation and a proactive macro approach,' McCarthy said. Clients are also looking for solutions that take advantage of active management but come with the benefits and transparency of the ETF wrapper, Alyson Shupe, head of global product strategy at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said in a statement included in the press release. Goldman Sachs Asset Management manages 61 ETF strategies around the world, representing more than $40 billion in total assets as of the end of April, the firm said. The new fund debuts come amid investors' heightened appetite for actively managed ETFs: Active ETFs recently eclipsed their passive counterparts in the $11 trillion ETF market, according to data from Bloomberg Intelligence 'We are committed to delivering the strengths of our investment platform to clients via the ETF wrapper,' McCarthy said. 'GBND and GIGL are supported by the resources, experience and discipline of a broader fixed income and liquidity solutions business which oversees over $1.75 trillion in assets.' The Goldman Sachs Access Ultra Short Bond ETF (GSST), for instance, currently has $897.6 million in assets under management (AUM), and the Goldman Sachs Access Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (GIGB), $675 million, FactSet data | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved
Business Wire
18-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Goldman Sachs Asset Management Announces Liquidation of Two Exchange-Traded Funds
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Goldman Sachs Asset Management ('GSAM'), the investment adviser for the Goldman Sachs Future Consumer Equity ETF and Goldman Sachs Future Planet Equity ETF (each, a 'Fund' and collectively, the 'Funds'), announced today that the Funds' Board of Trustees, at the recommendation of GSAM, has approved a plan of liquidation for each Fund (collectively, the 'Plans'). Under the Plans, which are effective today, the Funds will begin the process of liquidating portfolio assets and unwinding their affairs in an orderly fashion over time. The Plans are not subject to shareholder approval. Shareholders of the Funds may sell their shares on the Funds' listing exchange, NYSE Arca, Inc. ('NYSE Arca'), until market close on July 18, 2025, and may incur transaction fees from their broker-dealer. The Funds' shares will no longer trade on NYSE Arca after market close on July 18, 2025, and the shares will subsequently be de-listed. Shareholders who continue to hold shares of a Fund on the Funds' liquidation date, which is expected to be on or about July 25, 2025, will receive a liquidating distribution of cash in the cash portion of their brokerage accounts equal to the amount of the net asset value of their shares. For tax purposes, shareholders will generally recognize a capital gain or loss equal to the amount received for their shares over their adjusted basis in such shares. The Funds will stop accepting creation orders from Authorized Participants on July 18, 2025. About Goldman Sachs Asset Management Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world's leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market – overseeing more than $3.20 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of March 31, 2025. 1 Driven by a passion for our clients' performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time. Follow us on LinkedIn. The Goldman Sachs Future Consumer Equity ETF (the 'Fund') seeks long-term growth of capital. The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund. The Fund pursues its investment objective by primarily investing in U.S. and non-U.S. companies that the Investment Adviser believes are aligned with key themes associated with the different and evolving priorities and spending habits of younger consumers. The Fund's investments are subject to market risk, which means that the value of the securities in which it invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular sectors, governments or countries and/or general economic conditions in the U.S. or throughout the world. Stock markets have experienced periods of substantial price volatility in the past and may do so again in the future. The Fund's thematic investment strategy limits the universe of investment opportunities available to the Fund and may affect the Fund's performance relative to similar funds that do not seek to invest in companies exposed to such themes. The Fund relies on the Investment Adviser for the identification of companies the Investment Adviser believes are aligned with key themes associated with the different and evolving priorities and spending habits of younger consumers, and there is no guarantee that the Investment Adviser's views will reflect the beliefs or values of any particular investor or that companies in which the Fund invests will be successful in their efforts to align with the different and evolving priorities and spending habits of younger consumers. Different investment styles (e.g., 'growth', 'value' or 'quantitative') tend to shift in and out of favor, and at times the Fund may underperform other funds that invest in similar asset classes but employ different investment styles. Because the Fund concentrates its investments in certain specific industries, the Fund is subject to greater risk of loss as a result of adverse economic, business or other developments affecting those industries than if its investments were more diversified across different industries. Foreign and emerging markets investments may be more volatile and less liquid than investments in U.S. securities and are subject to the risks of currency fluctuations and adverse economic, social or political developments, including regional armed conflicts, sanctions, tariffs, counter-sanctions, retaliatory tariffs and other retaliatory actions. Such securities are also subject to foreign custody risk. The securities of mid- and small-cap companies involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements. The Fund is ' non-diversified ' and may invest a larger percentage of its assets in one or more issuers or in fewer issuers than 'diversified' funds. Accordingly, the Fund may be more susceptible to adverse developments affecting any single issuer held in its portfolio and to greater losses resulting from these developments. Because the Fund may invest in a relatively small number of issuers, the Fund is subject to greater risk of loss. The Goldman Sachs Future Planet Equity ETF (the 'Fund') seeks long-term capital appreciation. The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund. The Fund pursues its investment objective by primarily investing in companies that the Investment Adviser believes are associated with seeking to address environmental problems. The Fund's investments are subject to market risk, which means that the value of the securities in which it invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular sectors, governments or countries and/or general economic conditions in the U.S. or throughout the world. Stock markets have experienced periods of substantial price volatility in the past and may do so again in the future. The Fund's thematic investment strategy limits the universe of investment opportunities available to the Fund and may affect the Fund's performance relative to similar funds that do not seek to invest in companies exposed to such themes. The Fund relies on the Investment Adviser for the identification of companies the Investment Adviser believes are associated with seeking to address environmental problems, and there is no guarantee that the Investment Adviser's views will reflect the beliefs or values of any particular investor or that companies in which the Fund invests will be successful in their efforts to offer solutions that generate a positive environmental outcome. Because the Fund may invest a large percentage of its assets in specific sectors (for example, the industrials, materials and technology sectors), the Fund is subject to greater risk of loss as a result of adverse economic, business or other developments affecting such sectors. Foreign and emerging markets investments may be more volatile and less liquid than investments in U.S. securities and are subject to the risks of currency fluctuations and adverse economic, social or political developments, including regional armed conflicts, sanctions, tariffs, counter-sanctions, retaliatory tariffs and other retaliatory actions. Such securities are also subject to foreign custody risk. The securities of mid- and small-cap companies involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements. The Fund is ' non-diversified ' and may invest a larger percentage of its assets in one or more issuers or in fewer issuers than 'diversified' funds. Accordingly, the Fund may be more susceptible to adverse developments affecting any single issuer held in its portfolio and to greater losses resulting from these developments. Because the Fund may invest in a relatively small number of issuers, the Fund is subject to greater risk of loss. Fund shares are not individually redeemable and are issued and redeemed by a Fund at their net asset value ('NAV') only in large, specified blocks of shares called creation units. Shares otherwise can be bought and sold only through exchange trading at market price (not NAV). Shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. A summary prospectus, if available, or a Prospectus for each Fund containing more information may be obtained from your authorized dealer or from Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC by calling 1-800-621-2550. Please consider a Fund's objectives, risks, and charges and expenses, and read the summary prospectus, if available, and the Prospectus carefully before investing. The summary prospectus, if available, and the Prospectus contains this and other information about the Funds. The Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 'Act') imposes certain limits on investment companies purchasing or acquiring any security issued by another registered investment company. For these purposes the definition of 'investment company' includes funds that are unregistered because they are excepted from the definition of investment company by sections 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7) of the Act. You should consult your legal counsel for more information. Goldman Sachs does not provide accounting, tax or legal advice. © 2025 Goldman Sachs All rights reserved ALPS Control: GST 3117 Compliance Code: 437537-OTU-2292666
The Advertiser
18-06-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
Wall Street edges higher ahead of Fed's rate verdict
Wall Street's main indexes have ticked up as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision while the Israel-Iran attacks entered the sixth day. Investors will closely monitor Fed chair Jerome Powell's comments to gauge how he plans to combat the risk of rising prices, which remains a dominant concern for the central bank. The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged at its meeting, scheduled later in the day. "We're still at the beginning stages of feeling that real income shock from higher tariffs in the United States, and the uncertainty effect builds up over time," said Simon Dangoor, head of fixed income macro strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. "So I think the next couple of months of data is going to be really key about where we go from here." Ahead of the monetary policy decision, money market moves show traders are pricing in about 46 basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with a 55 per cent chance of a 25-bps rate cut in September, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Following strong monthly equity trading in May, the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq were close to record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk averse. The S&P 500 index stood 2.5 per cent below its record level, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq remained 3.3 per cent lower. Investors have been anxious over the possibility of a more direct US military involvement in the Israel-Iran aerial war. A source familiar with internal discussions said US President Donald Trump and his team were considering a number of options, which included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear sites. In early trading on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 73.93 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 42,289.73, the S&P 500 gained 13.90 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 5,996.62 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 49.31 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 19,571.01. Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Energy and consumer discretionary stocks gained 0.6 per cent each while healthcare stocks declined 0.4 per cent. Tesla gained 1.8 per cent. Shares of networking and custom AI chipmaker Marvell Technology hit a three-month high and were last up 8.7 per cent. Shares of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet rose 6.2 per cent after the US Senate passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens known as stablecoins. Scholar Rock rose 17.4 per cent after the drug maker said its experimental drug helped overweight patients preserve lean mass in a mid-stage trial when used in combination with Eli Lilly's weight-loss treatment. Steelmaker Nucor rose 4.9 per cent following a second-quarter profit forecast that came above analysts' estimates. Initial jobless claims data on Wednesday showed the number of people in the US filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week but stayed at levels consistent with a further loss of labour market momentum in June. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.63-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.3-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted four new 52-week highs and six new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 31 new highs and 53 new lows. Wall Street's main indexes have ticked up as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision while the Israel-Iran attacks entered the sixth day. Investors will closely monitor Fed chair Jerome Powell's comments to gauge how he plans to combat the risk of rising prices, which remains a dominant concern for the central bank. The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged at its meeting, scheduled later in the day. "We're still at the beginning stages of feeling that real income shock from higher tariffs in the United States, and the uncertainty effect builds up over time," said Simon Dangoor, head of fixed income macro strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. "So I think the next couple of months of data is going to be really key about where we go from here." Ahead of the monetary policy decision, money market moves show traders are pricing in about 46 basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with a 55 per cent chance of a 25-bps rate cut in September, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Following strong monthly equity trading in May, the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq were close to record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk averse. The S&P 500 index stood 2.5 per cent below its record level, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq remained 3.3 per cent lower. Investors have been anxious over the possibility of a more direct US military involvement in the Israel-Iran aerial war. A source familiar with internal discussions said US President Donald Trump and his team were considering a number of options, which included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear sites. In early trading on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 73.93 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 42,289.73, the S&P 500 gained 13.90 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 5,996.62 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 49.31 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 19,571.01. Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Energy and consumer discretionary stocks gained 0.6 per cent each while healthcare stocks declined 0.4 per cent. Tesla gained 1.8 per cent. Shares of networking and custom AI chipmaker Marvell Technology hit a three-month high and were last up 8.7 per cent. Shares of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet rose 6.2 per cent after the US Senate passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens known as stablecoins. Scholar Rock rose 17.4 per cent after the drug maker said its experimental drug helped overweight patients preserve lean mass in a mid-stage trial when used in combination with Eli Lilly's weight-loss treatment. Steelmaker Nucor rose 4.9 per cent following a second-quarter profit forecast that came above analysts' estimates. Initial jobless claims data on Wednesday showed the number of people in the US filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week but stayed at levels consistent with a further loss of labour market momentum in June. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.63-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.3-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted four new 52-week highs and six new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 31 new highs and 53 new lows. Wall Street's main indexes have ticked up as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision while the Israel-Iran attacks entered the sixth day. Investors will closely monitor Fed chair Jerome Powell's comments to gauge how he plans to combat the risk of rising prices, which remains a dominant concern for the central bank. The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged at its meeting, scheduled later in the day. "We're still at the beginning stages of feeling that real income shock from higher tariffs in the United States, and the uncertainty effect builds up over time," said Simon Dangoor, head of fixed income macro strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. "So I think the next couple of months of data is going to be really key about where we go from here." Ahead of the monetary policy decision, money market moves show traders are pricing in about 46 basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with a 55 per cent chance of a 25-bps rate cut in September, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Following strong monthly equity trading in May, the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq were close to record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk averse. The S&P 500 index stood 2.5 per cent below its record level, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq remained 3.3 per cent lower. Investors have been anxious over the possibility of a more direct US military involvement in the Israel-Iran aerial war. A source familiar with internal discussions said US President Donald Trump and his team were considering a number of options, which included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear sites. In early trading on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 73.93 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 42,289.73, the S&P 500 gained 13.90 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 5,996.62 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 49.31 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 19,571.01. Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Energy and consumer discretionary stocks gained 0.6 per cent each while healthcare stocks declined 0.4 per cent. Tesla gained 1.8 per cent. Shares of networking and custom AI chipmaker Marvell Technology hit a three-month high and were last up 8.7 per cent. Shares of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet rose 6.2 per cent after the US Senate passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens known as stablecoins. Scholar Rock rose 17.4 per cent after the drug maker said its experimental drug helped overweight patients preserve lean mass in a mid-stage trial when used in combination with Eli Lilly's weight-loss treatment. Steelmaker Nucor rose 4.9 per cent following a second-quarter profit forecast that came above analysts' estimates. Initial jobless claims data on Wednesday showed the number of people in the US filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week but stayed at levels consistent with a further loss of labour market momentum in June. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.63-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.3-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted four new 52-week highs and six new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 31 new highs and 53 new lows. Wall Street's main indexes have ticked up as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision while the Israel-Iran attacks entered the sixth day. Investors will closely monitor Fed chair Jerome Powell's comments to gauge how he plans to combat the risk of rising prices, which remains a dominant concern for the central bank. The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged at its meeting, scheduled later in the day. "We're still at the beginning stages of feeling that real income shock from higher tariffs in the United States, and the uncertainty effect builds up over time," said Simon Dangoor, head of fixed income macro strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. "So I think the next couple of months of data is going to be really key about where we go from here." Ahead of the monetary policy decision, money market moves show traders are pricing in about 46 basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with a 55 per cent chance of a 25-bps rate cut in September, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Following strong monthly equity trading in May, the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq were close to record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk averse. The S&P 500 index stood 2.5 per cent below its record level, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq remained 3.3 per cent lower. Investors have been anxious over the possibility of a more direct US military involvement in the Israel-Iran aerial war. A source familiar with internal discussions said US President Donald Trump and his team were considering a number of options, which included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear sites. In early trading on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 73.93 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 42,289.73, the S&P 500 gained 13.90 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 5,996.62 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 49.31 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 19,571.01. Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Energy and consumer discretionary stocks gained 0.6 per cent each while healthcare stocks declined 0.4 per cent. Tesla gained 1.8 per cent. Shares of networking and custom AI chipmaker Marvell Technology hit a three-month high and were last up 8.7 per cent. Shares of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet rose 6.2 per cent after the US Senate passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens known as stablecoins. Scholar Rock rose 17.4 per cent after the drug maker said its experimental drug helped overweight patients preserve lean mass in a mid-stage trial when used in combination with Eli Lilly's weight-loss treatment. Steelmaker Nucor rose 4.9 per cent following a second-quarter profit forecast that came above analysts' estimates. Initial jobless claims data on Wednesday showed the number of people in the US filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week but stayed at levels consistent with a further loss of labour market momentum in June. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.63-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.3-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted four new 52-week highs and six new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 31 new highs and 53 new lows.
