US stocks rise as cyclicals take the lead, crude weakness persists

NEW YORK :U.S. stocks advanced in opposition to their global counterparts on Wednesday, and crude extended its decline on worries that demand could soften.
Megacap growth stocks faltered, limiting the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s gains.
Economically sensitive sectors helped propel the S&P 500 and the Dow to more substantial gains.
“We’re making up for the losses yesterday, yet investors are still cautious ahead of a slew of earnings, along with retail sales on Thursday morning,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha.
Large banking firms have reported a string of upbeat earnings. Most recently, Morgan Stanley reported consensus-beating quarterly profit, sending its shares to a record high.
Upbeat earnings from United Airlines boosted commercial air carrier stocks by 6.7 per cent.
But on Tuesday, chip equipment maker ASML forecast weaker than expected 2025 sales, prompting demand concerns.
“It’s early this earnings season but financials have done extremely well, of course we have many other industries coming up soon, but it is a nice start to this earning season,” Detrick added. “After ASML’s disappointing guidance yesterday, worries are jumping regarding AI (artificial intelligence) and tech in general.
“The bar is set quite high and they have an important job to do, to show that the overall growth they continue to see is justified,” Detrick said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 330.75 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 43,070.01, the S&P 500 rose 27.49 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 5,842.82 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 54.33 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 18,369.92.
European stocks settled lower in the wake of disappointing results from ASML. Luxury goods maker LVMH weighed on sentiment as investors remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) policy decision on Thursday.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 0.74 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 851.99. The STOXX 600 index fell 0.19 per cent, while Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 4.37 points, or 0.21 per cent.
Emerging market stocks fell 6.02 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 1,143.71.
Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields eased as financial markets cemented bets for a smaller interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve at the conclusion of next month’s policy meeting.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 2 basis points to 4.018 per cent, from 4.038 per cent late on Tuesday. The 30-year bond yield fell 2.7 basis points to 4.3011 per cent from 4.328 per cent late on Tuesday.
The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, fell 2.1 basis points to 3.936 per cent, from 3.956 per cent late on Tuesday.
The dollar touched a 10-week high against a basket of world currencies as investors ruled out a hefty policy rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting, and began to consider the possibility that Republican Donald Trump could win the Nov. 5 presidential election.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.3 per cent to 103.57, with the euro down 0.3 per cent at $1.0857.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.38 per cent to 149.76.
Oil prices were slightly lower, having dropped about 7 per cent over the prior three days. Worries have eased about the Middle East conflict disrupting supply, while 2025 demand forecasts have disappointed oil traders
U.S. crude fell 0.27 per cent to $70.39 a barrel and Brent fell to $74.22 per barrel, down 0.04 per cent on the day.
Gold prices extended recent gains, boosted by a pull-back in U.S. bond yields.
Spot gold rose 0.52 per cent to $2,674.88 an ounce.