news/EBAY/2023.02.23/Wall St finishes topsy-turvy day higher, S&P snaps losing run.txt

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)*Nvidia hits 10-month high on upbeat sales forecast*Netflix slips on price cuts report*Weekly jobless claims fall; GDP grows 2.7% in Q4*Intraday dip fueled by short-dated derivatives trades -
Nomura*Indexes up: Dow 0.33%, S&P 0.53%, Nasdaq 0.72%Feb 23 (Reuters) -Wall Street ended a topsy-turvy Thursday in positive
territory, with the S&P 500 snapping a four-session losing
streak, as investors grappled with how interest rate policy
might affect the U.S. economy.Stock markets have been volatile this year, pulling back in
February after a strong January as investors tried to figure out
what the U.S. Federal Reserve will do with interest rates.
Hawkish comments from policymakers have been interspersed with
data pointing to a strong American economy.On Thursday, the Labor Department said the number of
Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits
unexpectedly fell last week, reflecting tight labor market
conditions.A separate report confirmed the economy grew solidly in the
fourth quarter, though rising inventory levels were responsible
for much of the increase.U.S. gross domestic product increased 2.7% in the fourth
quarter, according to the government's second estimate.
Economists were forecasting a 2.9% rise."If you're a bull, you can pull out plenty of things that
are supportive, and if you're bear there are plenty of things to
point to that are supportive," said Jack Janasiewicz, lead
portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions."There are so many cross currents that are moving in very
different directions, I think it's very difficult to fall back
on one or two things. That's creating a lot of hand-wringing
uncertainty, and we're range-trading as a result of it."For part of the day, the S&P was trading below its 50-day
moving average of 3,980 points, before rallying in the afternoon
to finish above 4,000 points for the first time this week.Influencing this intraday dip were large trades in
short-dated derivatives that piled selling pressure on the
market, according to Nomura strategist Charlie McElligott.Helping provide confidence to buyers, Nvidia Corp
posted positive earnings and surged 14% after forecasting
quarterly sales above estimates and reporting a surge in the use
of its chips to power artificial intelligence services.Other chipmakers also gained, with Broadcom Inc,
Intel Corp and Qualcomm Inc rising between
0.6% and 1.8%. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index
climbed 3.3%.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 108.82 points,
or 0.33%, to 33,153.91, the S&P 500 gained 21.27 points,
or 0.53%, to 4,012.32 and the Nasdaq Composite added
83.33 points, or 0.72%, to 11,590.40.Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose. Higher crude
prices pushed energy up 1.3%, and the index halted a
losing run at seven. This tied its biggest stretch of declines
since an eight-session skid in March 2017.Communication services was the biggest decliner,
dropping 0.7%. This was its fifth straight fall, matching
another five-loss streak in October. It was weighed by Netflix
Inc, which slipped 3.4% on reports the streaming
service was cutting subscription prices in 30 countries.Among other stocks, eBay Inc recorded its biggest
daily drop since Sept. 13, sliding 5.2%, after warning of dour
demand in the first half.Moderna Inc fell 6.7%, to its lower close since
Nov. 3, after the vaccine maker reaffirmed its annual sales
forecast of $5 billion for its COVID-19 vaccines despite its
fourth-quarter sales exceeding estimates.However, Bumble Inc jumped 7.5%. The owner of the
eponymous dating app projected annual revenue growth above
market estimates on optimism over rising paying users.Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.43 billion shares, compared
with the 11.59 billion average for the full session over the
last 20 trading days.The S&P 500 posted 7 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 59 new highs and 128 new lows.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru
and David French in New York; Editing by Savio D'Souza, Arun
Koyyur, Anil D'Silva and David Gregorio)