news/GOOG/2023.01.09/Nasdaq leads gains on Wall Street as interest rate worries ease.txt

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)*Amazon up as Jefferies sees easing costs*Alibaba climbs as Ant Group's Jack Ma to give up control*Macy's, Lululemon drop on holiday-quarter warnings*Indexes up: Dow 0.68%, S&P 1.24%, Nasdaq 2.03%Jan 9 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq rose more than 2% on Monday
with Big Tech and growth stocks spearheading gains as recent
signs of a cooling labor market supported bets of a slower pace
of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.Megacap growth stocks Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc
and Microsoft Corp gained over 2% each as
U.S. Treasury yields declined.Amazon.com Inc rose 3.4% after Jefferies said it
saw cost pressures easing for the e-commerce giant in the second
half of the year.Tesla Inc climbed 7% after the electric-vehicle
maker indicated longer waiting times for some versions of the
Model Y in China, signaling the recent price cuts could be
stoking demand.The gains pushed technology to the top of the
major S&P 500 sector indexes list, while consumer discretionary
stocks also rose with a near 2% gain.The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed
the week higher on Friday after a moderation in wage increases
and a decline in U.S. services activity in December buoyed hopes
of a less hawkish stance from the Fed as well as a soft landing
for the U.S. economy."The number of jobs created is working its way down slowly
and wages are starting to calm down. Both of those are important
for inflation coming under control, without necessarily
careening the U.S economy to a recession," said Art Hogan, chief
market strategist at B. Riley Financial.The highly awaited U.S. Labor Department's inflation report
on Thursday is expected to show some moderation in year-on-year
consumer prices in December.Money market bets show 79% odds of a 25-basis point hike in
the Fed's February policy meeting, with the terminal rate
expected at 4.92% by June.The CPI report would be crucial in shaping expectations for
when the Fed is close to the end of its tightening cycle and is
likely to show inflation is starting to move down, Jon Maier,
chief investment officer at Global X ETFs, said.Other economic data such as weekly jobless claims and the
University of Michigan's consumer sentiment report will also be
in focus this week, as big U.S. banks kick off the quarterly
earnings season on Friday.A slew of Fed officials including Chair Jerome Powell are
due to speak this week, with investors ready to parse their
commentary for more clues on the rate-hike trajectory.U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
rose 3.7% on news that Ant Group's founder Jack Ma will give up
control of the Chinese fintech giant in an overhaul.At 11:41 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
was up 229.32 points, or 0.68%, at 33,859.93, the S&P 500
was up 48.49 points, or 1.24%, at 3,943.57, and the Nasdaq
Composite was up 214.41 points, or 2.03%, at 10,783.70.Macy's Inc and Lululemon Athletica Inc fell
7.7% and 7.9%, respectively, following dour holiday-quarter
forecasts from both the retailers.Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 4.45-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 2.54-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.The S&P index recorded 12 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 107 new highs and 18 new lows.
(Reporting by Shubham Batra, Amruta Khandekar and Ankika Biswas
in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)