news/GOOGL/2023.02.02/Nasdaq, S&P 500 post strong gains on Fed relief, Meta surge.txt

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)*Meta soars on cost controls, $40 bln share buyback*Merck slides on disappointing forecast, UnitedHealth drops*S&P 500, Nasdaq hit roughly 5-month highs*Indexes: Dow down 0.11%, S&P up 1.47%, Nasdaq up 3.25%(Updates with after-hours trading of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet)Feb 2 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended higher on
Thursday and touched roughly five-month highs as a more
dovish-than-expected message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome
Powell boosted equities and Meta Platforms shares soared on
rigorous cost controls.The Dow slipped, dragged down by declines in some big
healthcare stocks.Investors were still digesting the Fed's policy decision on
Wednesday and comments from Powell, who acknowledged progress in
the fight against inflation and appeared reluctant to push back
against the rally in stocks and bonds.“I think the reaction to yesterday’s Fed comments really
encouraged investors to go risk on,” said Rick Meckler, partner
at Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey. "The
bottom line for investors I think is that the Fed’s comments
were unexpected.”The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 39.02 points,
or 0.11%, to 34,053.94, the S&P 500 gained 60.55 points,
or 1.47%, to 4,179.76 and the Nasdaq Composite added
384.50 points, or 3.25%, to 12,200.82.Shares of megacap stocks Apple, Amazon and
Google parent Alphabet also gained strongly ahead of
results due after market close on Thursday, with Apple rising
3.7%, and Amazon and Alphabet both up over 7%.In initial after-hours trading, however, shares of all three
companies fell after their respective results.After a bruising 2022, U.S. stock markets have made a strong
start to the year, with tech and other stocks that lagged last
year leading the rebound amid hopes that the Fed will temper its
aggressive rate hikes, which in turn could alleviate some
pressure on equity valuations.Those trends continued on Thursday. The communications
services sector jumped 6.7%, its biggest daily gain in
almost three years, led by a 23.3% surge for Facebook parent
Meta. The company revealed stricter cost controls this
year and a $40 billion share buyback, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg
called 2023 the "year of efficiency."The S&P 500's 50-day moving average moved above the 200-day
moving average, a pattern known as a "golden cross" that is
perceived by many as a bullish technical signal for near-term
momentum.The energy sector, one of last year's standout
performers, fell 2.5%, while healthcare dropped 0.7%.UnitedHealth Group shares fell 5.3% after the U.S.
government proposed Medicare Advantage reimbursement rates below
analyst estimates, and the stock weighed down the Dow. A 3.3%
decline in Merck shares, after the drugmaker forecast
2023 earnings below Wall Street estimates, also dragged on the
blue chip index.Shares of drugmaker Eli Lilly dropped 3.5% after
sales of its closely watched diabetes drug missed estimates.Data showed jobless claims fell last week to a nine-month
low, highlighting the labor market's resilience, ahead of
monthly U.S. employment numbers on Friday.Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
2.29-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.55-to-1 ratio favored advancers.The S&P 500 posted 36 new 52-week highs and one new low; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 162 new highs and 16 new lows.About 15 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges,
compared with the 11.7 billion daily average over the last 20
sessions.
(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf in New York, Shreyashi Sanyal and
Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi, Anil
D'Silva and Cynthia Osterman)