Stock Indices Rise on Alphabet, Tesla

Tuesday saw a significant boost for Alphabet and other tech stocks, propelling major indexes upwards, setting a robust tone as markets geared up for the Federal Reserve's impending interest-rate decision later in the week.

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Alphabet witnessed a notable surge of 4.6%, while Apple experienced a modest increase of 0.6%, driven by a Bloomberg report suggesting that Google's Gemini artificial-intelligence engine might find utility within Apple's iPhone ecosystem. Additionally, Nvidia's shares rose by 0.7% in anticipation of the company's forthcoming unveiling of its latest computing chip generation.

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Tesla's stock soared by 6.3%, although it remained 30% lower for the year.

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These positive movements contributed to the S&P 500 climbing by 0.6%, the Nasdaq Composite advancing by 0.8%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.2%. Last week had seen a decline across all three indexes following the release of inflation data exceeding expectations.

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Tech stocks weren't the only beneficiaries; nine out of the 11 sectors within the S&P 500 closed with gains. However, the Russell 2000 experienced a slight decline, reflecting some weakness in smaller company shares.

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Steve Englander, head of global G-10 FX research and North America macro strategy at Standard Chartered, remarked, "The big thing that we’re seeing is that the market is not afraid of Fed hawkishness."

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The Federal Reserve is widely anticipated to maintain interest rates during its two-day policy meeting, concluding on Wednesday. Nevertheless, investors are wary of signals the central bank might give regarding potential rate cuts later this year, following two consecutive months of unexpectedly strong inflation data.

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Accompanying the rate decision, the Fed will unveil its "dot plot," anonymously indicating officials' forecasts for future rates over the next few years. In December, the dot plot projected a median forecast of three 0.25-percentage-point rate cuts for the year, reflecting a belief that subdued inflation could pave the way for looser monetary policy. However, this time around, analysts like Englander anticipate a shift in the forecast to two cuts by 2024.

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Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management, expressed cautious optimism regarding stocks but exercised prudence ahead of the Fed meeting. He anticipates that while the meeting might not yield any bullish surprises, there could potentially be negative outcomes.

Year-to-date, the S&P 500 has seen an 8% increase.

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Despite the resilience of stocks on Monday, speculation surrounding prolonged higher interest rates weighed on bond prices. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note settled at 4.339%, slightly up from Friday's 4.303%, marking its highest close for the year.

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Internationally, yields on Japanese government bonds mostly decreased, while the Nikkei 225 surged by 2.7% in anticipation of the Bank of Japan's forthcoming interest-rate decision on Tuesday.

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