U.S. markets and stock ETFs climbed Wednesday as technology shares strengthened following Apple’s launch of its latest iPhones and as markets look to supportive central banks.
On Wednesday, the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) increased 0.7%, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEArca: DIA) rose 0.2% and SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY) was 0.5% higher.
An extended rally out of Apple shares helped support the broader technology sector after the tech giant revealed a trio of new iPhones and a monthly price for its new video-streaming service that undercut both Walt Disney and Netflix, Reuters reports.
The move also helped offset earlier moves as investors were showing growing appetite for the value style over growth stocks.
Market watchers were also waiting on policy moves, with the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank on tap.
“We’re waiting to see policy makers react to stabilize growth,” Shawn Snyder, head of investment strategy at Citi Personal Wealth Management, told the Wall Street Journal.
U.S.-China trade war
Given the uncertainty surrounding the U.S.-China trade war and its effects on the global economy, “it’s hard to judge what the economic outlook is,” Snyder added.
On Thursday, many investors are expecting a smaller stimulus bump out of the ECB as policymakers announce their decision.
“Ahead of the ECB meeting, investors seemed to take some chips off the table with aggressive expectations being pared back,” Antoine Bouvet, senior rates strategist at ING Bank, said in a note.
Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors, warned that while the U.S. economy is more or less insulated from a weak European market, a more hawkish ECB decision on Thursday could trigger a negative reaction out of U.S. markets.
Meanwhile, there remains high expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this month. Presidetn Donald Trump even called for aggressive rate cuts, tweeting “the Federal Reserve should get our interest rates down to ZERO, or less, and we should then start to refinance our debt.”
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