The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 172.13 points, or 0.44 percent, to 39,056.39, extending its winning streak to six days. The S&P 500 sank 0.03 points to 5,187.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 29.80 points, or 0.18 percent, to 16,302.76.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with real estate and materials leading the laggards by losing 0.90 percent and 0.44 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, utilities and financials led the gainers by rising 1.05 percent and 0.40 percent, respectively. The utilities sector is 2.2 percent higher for the week, leading the broad market index's sector gains.
Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Susan Collins remarked on Wednesday that she wasn't taken aback by the inflation updates, considering the swift advancements observed last year. However, she emphasized the necessity for the U.S. economy to undergo further moderation to alleviate price pressures expected in the upcoming months. "It's just going to take longer than previously thought" to get inflation back to the Fed's target rate of 2 percent, she said.
As U.S. stocks recover from last month's selloff, options traders are showing reduced interest in contracts that would profit from a market crash. The demand for "out-of-the-money" puts compared to "at-the-money" puts on the S&P 500, known as "put skew," has declined after an increase last month, according to data from Nomura's Charlie McElligott. This metric is used to gauge traders' desire for protection against market crashes.
Simultaneously, the demand for options linked to the Cboe Volatility Index, which typically generates profits during sudden market downturns or rallies, has also dropped. This decline has driven the Cboe VVIX, a measure of demand for such bets, to its lowest level in a decade on Monday, according to FactSet data.
Meanwhile, mortgage demand in the United States experienced a slight increase last week, with interest rates declining in response to news of a slowing job market. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Wednesday, applications rose by 2.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 3.
"Treasury rates and mortgage rates fell last week on the news of a slowing job market, with wage growth at the slowest pace since 2021, and the Federal Reserve's announced plans to ease quantitative tightening in June and to maintain its view that another rate hike is unlikely," Mike Fratantoni, MBA's senior vice president and chief economist, said in a statement.
On the corporate front, Amgen and JPMorgan Chase were the biggest contributors of gains to the Dow, advancing more than 2 percent each. Uber shares declined by 5.72 percent following the ride-share company's unexpected net loss and lower-than-anticipated bookings revenue.
Additionally, Intel experienced a more than 2 percent drop after revising down its second-quarter revenue guidance. Tesla shares dipped by 1.74 percent following reports indicating a U.S. prosecutor investigation into potential wire fraud related to the company's Autopilot systems.
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