news/GOOG/2023.01.09/Nasdaq leads Wall St higher as interest rate worries ease.txt

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window)*Amazon up as Jefferies sees easing costs*Alibaba climbs as Ant Group's Jack Ma to cede control*Macy's, Lululemon drop on holiday-quarter warnings*Indexes up: Dow 0.39%, S&P 0.85%, Nasdaq 1.52%Jan 9 (Reuters) - The tech-heavy Nasdaq led gains among
the main Wall Street indexes on Monday, boosted by shares of
Amazon and Tesla, while signs of a cooling labor market
supported bets of a slower pace of interest rate hikes by the
Federal Reserve.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 7.5% 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.Other rate-sensitive growth stocks like Apple Inc
and Alphabet Inc gained about 1% each as U.S. Treasury
yields declined.The gains pushed technology to the top of the
major S&P 500 sector indexes list. The S&P 500 growth index
was up 3.6%, outperforming a 0.7% rise in its value peers
.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 75% odds of a 25-basis point hike in
the Fed's February policy meeting, with the terminal rate
expected just below 5% by June.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 parsing their commentary
for more clues on the rate-hike trajectory.U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
rose 2.7% on news that Ant Group's founder Jack Ma will give up
control of the Chinese fintech giant in an overhaul.At 9:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was
up 132.40 points, or 0.39%, at 33,763.01, the S&P 500 was
up 33.17 points, or 0.85%, at 3,928.25, and the Nasdaq Composite
was up 160.39 points, or 1.52%, at 10,729.69.Macy's Inc and Lululemon Athletica Inc
dropped 8.7% and 10.3%, respectively, following dour
holiday-quarter forecasts from both the retailers.Other retailers such as Kohl's Corp and Nordstrom
Inc also took a hit, down 4.3% and 2.9%, respectively.Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 3.68-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 2.15-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.The S&P index recorded 10 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 95 new highs and 14 new lows.
(Reporting by Shubham Batra, Amruta Khandekar and Ankika Biswas
in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)