At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen 0.9 percent, the broad S&P 500 index 0.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index 0.2 percent.
But it started in the minor leagues. Before the stock market opened, figures from payroll administrator ADP were released.
They showed that the number of private sector jobs in the US fell by 32,000 in November – the worst figure since the beginning of 2023, according to the news agency Bloomberg. This can also be compared with the increase of 47,000 in October and that analysts, on the contrary, expected 10,000 more people employed in November.
Lost the air
This knocked the air out of the stock market's pre-trade and the three major indexes then opened in the red.
The dollar lost value and interest rates on the bond market were pushed down.
But spirits were soon lifted by the belief that the probability is now increasing that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will lower its key interest rate next week.
The market is now pricing in an 89 percent probability of a quarter-percentage point cut, according to research firm CME Fedwatch .
Soon the stock market had crawled back above zero and finally closed in the green.
“Significant weakening”
Jeff Roach, chief economist at financial advisory firm LPL Financial, tells Bloomberg that “the faltering labor market will be a focus for the Fed” ahead of the decision next Wednesday.
Since earlier this year, when we began to see a significant weakening in the labor market, I have believed that labor demand is weak enough for the Fed to cut interest rates, including this month.
Bitcoin rose again, now 1.8 percent, to a price of $92,977. This means the cryptocurrency has had a couple of good days after a long period of decline. Today's value is the highest since mid-November.
But it is still a long way from the record of just over $126,000 in early October.
