news/GOOGL/2023.02.02/Stocks rally, U.S. yields flat on hope for central banks pause.txt

*Markets see Fed, BoE and ECB rate-hike cycle end on
horizon*Dollar bounces after biggest daily pct drop in a month*Meta scores biggest daily pct jump in nearly a decadeNEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A gauge of global stocks
climbed for a third straight day and longer-dated U.S. Treasury
yields were flat on Thursday, as policy announcements from a
host of central banks added to optimism that the cycles of
interest rate hikes may be near an end.After the U.S. Federal Reserve raised rates by 25 basis
points (bps) on Wednesday, as was widely expected, markets
rallied following comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell
acknowledging the "disinflationary" process may have begun.The European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BoE)
hiked by 50 basis points each on Thursday, with the BoE
signaling the tide was turning against inflation and the ECB
indicating at least one more hike was on the horizon.On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rallied, with the S&P
500 closing at its highest intraday level since Aug. 19 and the
Nasdaq closing at its highest since Sept. 12, getting an
additional boost from a 23.28% surge in Facebook parent Meta
Platforms Inc, its biggest daily percentage jump since
July 25, 2013, following its quarterly results and $40 billion
buyback announcement. That helped the S&P communication services
sector jump 6.74%, its biggest daily percentage gain
since March 13, 2020."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 while 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.On the economic front, weekly initial jobless claims dropped
to a nine-month low, showing the labor market remains strong,
while worker productivity in the fourth quarter accelerated.
Investors will eye the January payrolls report on Friday for
further signs of labor market strength.With 46% of the S&P 500 having reported results, earnings
for the quarter are expected to decline 2.4% from the year-ago
period, according to Refinitiv data, compared with a 1.6%
expected decline at the start of the year.After the closing bell, Amazon shares lost 6.56% and Google
parent Alphabet dropped 6.09% after their quarterly
results.European stocks also jumped, with the STOXX 600 closing at
its highest level since April 21 as it notched its biggest
one-day percentage gain in a month.The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.35% and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained
1.12%. The MSCI index hit its highest intraday level since May 5
and was on track for its ninth gain in the past ten sessions.Benchmark 10-year notes were unchanged to
3.398%, reversing an earlier move lower.The dollar bounced, however, from its biggest one-day
percentage drop in nearly a month on Wednesday, while the euro
and sterling weakened following the ECB and BoE announcements.The dollar index rose 0.773%, with the euro
down 0.73% to $1.0909.The Japanese yen strengthened 0.21% versus the
greenback at 128.67 per dollar, while sterling was last
trading at $1.2228, down 1.20% on the day.In commodities, the dollar strength served to dent oil
prices, with U.S. crude settling down 0.69% at $75.88 per
barrel and Brent settled at $82.17, down 0.81% on the
day.(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; additional reporting by Karen
Brettell, Lewis Krauskopf and Lisa Pauline Mattackal; editing by
Jonathan Oatis, Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)