news/AVGO/2023.03.03/Wall Street closes sharply higher, notches weekly gains as Treasury yields ease.txt

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)*All three major stock indexes post weekly gains*S&P 500 breaks through 50-day moving average*Apple surges as Morgan Stanley hikes price target*Indexes up: Dow 1.17%, S&P 1.61%, Nasdaq 1.97%NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street rallied on
Friday to end a volatile week, as U.S. Treasury yields eased and
economic data helped investors look past the growing likelihood
that the Federal Reserve will have to keep its restrictive
policy in place until late in the year.All three major U.S. stock indexes surged more than 1%, with
the tech-laden Nasdaq climbing close to 2% with a boost from
interest rate sensitive megacaps. U.S. Treasury yields eased in
the wake of comments from Fed officials that calmed fears over
inflation and interest rates."It continues to be all about the Fed and how gracefully
they can slow the economy," said David Carter, managing director
at JPMorgan Private Bank in New York. "The Fed is telling
markets what they want to hear but also injecting the caution
that rates may need to go higher depending on the economic
data."For the week, the indexes notched gains, with the S&P
snapping a three-week losing streak and the Dow, returning to
positive territory year-to-date, enjoyed its first weekly
advance since late January.The week also saw the benchmark S&P 500 break through its
50- and 200-day moving averages, two closely watched technical
levels."It’s an indication that a shift is transpiring," said
Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in
Fairfield, Connecticut. "And a lot of people are suspect of it,
but they don't want to be left behind."Economic data released on Friday showed steady demand for
services, with purchasing managers' indexes (PMI) from the
Institute for Supply Management and S&P Global indicating that
activity in the sector continues to expand even as input prices
cool."Investors saw what they wanted in the ISM data, which was
basically healthy growth with slowing prices," Carter added. "It
suggests they are willing to stay on the plane as they are less
worried about the landing."The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 387.4 points,
or 1.17%, to 33,390.97, the S&P 500 gained 64.29 points,
or 1.61%, to 4,045.64 and the Nasdaq Composite added
226.02 points, or 1.97%, to 11,689.01.All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 ended the session
green, with tech and consumer discretionary
enjoying the largest percentage gains.Fourth-quarter earnings season is on the final stretch, with
all but seven of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported.
Results for the quarter have beaten consensus estimates 68% of
the time, according to Refinitiv.Still, on aggregate, analysts believe S&P 500 earnings will
have fallen 3.2% in the fourth quarter compared to the prior
year, and expect negative year-on-year numbers for the first two
quarters of 2023. This would imply the S&P 500 entered a
three-quarter earnings recession in the closing months of 2022,
per Refinitiv.Apple Inc jumped 3.5% after Morgan Stanley said the
stock could rally more than 20% this year on a potential
hardware subscription.Broadcom Inc  advanced5.7% after the chipmakerforecastsecond-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates as
increased investments in AI spurred demand for chips.Among losers, Costco Wholesale Corp slipped2.1% on the heels of its revenue miss, as high inflation
dampened consumer demand.Chipmaker Marvell Technology Inc slid4.7% in the wake of the company'squarterly profit missand disappointing revenue forecast.Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE
by a 4.54-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.36-to-1 ratio favored
advancers.The S&P 500 posted 23 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 79 new highs and 57 new lows.Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.83 billion shares,
compared with the 11.10 billion average over the last 20 trading
days.(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Sruthi
Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)