Singapore: Migrant workers at Tanah Merah dorm have to wait hours for shuttle bus; operator says it's only a peak-period problemTwo women hold umbrellas as they walk past the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York’s Times Square August 22, 2013. — Reuters picNEW YORK, Oct 2 — The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rose today as most growth stocks gained, while investors awaited comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and more data this week to gauge the central bank’s interest-rate path.
Investors await Powell and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker’s comments during a roundtable discussion, due 11 am ET. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester will also speak later in the day. Traders’ bets on the benchmark rate remained unchanged for November and December at nearly 69 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively, according to CME’s FedWatch tool, while they have priced in a 25-basis-point rate cut as early as March.
Investors await job openings data tomorrow leading to the crucial monthly jobs report at the end of the week for more clues on the Fed’s interest-rate path. At 10.04am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 55.31 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 33,452.19, the S&P 500 was up 7.16 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 4,295.21, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 100.19 points, or 0.76 per cent, at 13,319.51.