Waller comment turns September Fed decision into a coin toss as US stocks rally

The S&P 500 rose 1.06% to 7,748 after Governor Christopher Waller said he could support a September hold if August inflation keeps improving, cutting rate-hike odds from about 70% to roughly even.

Deepakshi

Kristal Research & Marketing team

4 Sept

Key takeaways — AI summary

The S&P 500 gained 1.06% to 7,748 and the Nasdaq 100 led with a 1.16% rise to 29,482; ten of eleven sectors closed higher, with only energy and materials falling.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he would back holding rates steady in September if August inflation keeps improving, but warned a hot reading could revive a hike; traders cut September increase odds from near 70% earlier in the week to roughly a coin toss.
Bonds rallied, with the two-year Treasury yield down about 0.04 points to 4.33% and the 10-year easing to 4.76%; the dollar was sold broadly, though it later returned above 156 yen.
Snowflake jumped 16.9% on $1.55bn revenue and a raised outlook, and Robinhood rose 15.6% to lead the S&P 500; Ciena fell 10% and Campbell's dropped 7.8% after cutting its dividend to 25 cents from 39 cents.
Gold held flat near $4,475 an ounce and oil stayed near recent highs; August services activity hit 55.4 (strongest since February) but the employment component stayed in contraction at 47.8, with prices paid at 72.3, the highest since August 2022.

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