Smaller-than-expected losses in shares of Nvidia, along with gains in other big tech names supported the recovery for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Alphabet shares made another record high, while gains were also seen in shares of Meta, Apple and Amazon. Tesla was the only underperformer among big tech names after a sharp fall in European car sales, but that too, recovered from the lows of the day.
The second revised estimates released pre-market showed that the US economy grew at a pace of 3.3% from last year, compared to the initial print of 3% growth. Business investment expanded at 5.7% Vs 1.9% reported initially. However, economists, particularly those from Citi, are of the view that these trends would not sustain in the ongoing quarter due to a weak labor market and impact of tariffs on costs.Initial jobless claims for the week gone by also narrowed to 2.29 lakh, in comparison to estimates that ranged between 2.3 lakh and 2.35 lakh respectively. Continuing claims also narrowed to 1.9 million.
All eyes are now on the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the PCE report, which will be released later this evening. A consensus estimates of analysts expects Core PCE, which strips out food and energy costs, to rise 2.9% from last year, which could turn out to be the fastest pace in five months and well above the Fed’s 2% target.
However, analysts believe that the risks for the market remain on the upside other than a sharply higher PCE print, which could sour sentiment, but not diminish hopes of the Fed cutting rates in September.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller, in an address on Thursday, said that he would support a 25 basis points cut in the next FOMC meet scheduled for September 16-17 but does not see the need for an outsized cut. Instead, he sees more easing over the next three to six months.
First Published: Aug 29, 2025 4:51 AM IS
