Stocks Rise as Fed Rate-Hike Pause Hopes Persist Into New Week

Wall Street opened Monday riding momentum from its strongest week in months, with investors still convinced the Federal Reserve has finished raising interest rates. The Nasdaq Composite, which tracks the largest technology companies, climbed roughly 0.3% in mid-morning trading. The S&P 500 benchmark rose just over 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average barely moved. The gains extended a rally that had built through the previous week after Friday's jobs report showed hiring had slowed more sharply than expected and wage growth had cooled—two pieces of data that reinforced the market's belief that the Fed would hold rates steady going forward.

That optimism is about to face a test. Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, is scheduled to speak twice this week, along with regional Fed presidents John Williams and Raphael Bostic. Investors will be listening closely for any signal about whether the central bank truly believes inflation has been tamed enough to pause its campaign of rate increases. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note ticked up about 7 basis points to near 4.63%, a modest move that reflected the market's measured confidence rather than panic.

Not everyone on Wall Street is convinced the rally will hold. Mike Wilson, a strategist at Morgan Stanley, cautioned last week that the stock market's rebound "looks more like a bear market rally rather than the start of a sustained upswing." His warning reflects a deeper uncertainty: whether the recent gains represent genuine recovery or merely a temporary bounce within a longer downturn. The market still faces a full calendar of corporate earnings reports, with Disney's results due Wednesday standing out as the week's marquee event.

During Monday's trading, Disney announced a significant leadership change. Hugh Johnston, who spent 34 years at PepsiCo and served as its chief financial officer for more than a decade, will take over as Disney's chief financial officer effective December 4. Johnston's appointment comes as Disney faces pressure from activist investor Nelson Peltz, who is pushing for multiple board seats at the company. Disney's stock has fallen to record lows in recent months. CEO Bob Iger said in a statement that Johnston's experience managing large, diverse global brands would help Disney "continue the transformative work" needed to drive growth. Disney shares traded flat on the news.

In the broader market, several individual stocks drew attention. Tesla rose over 1% after announcing plans to build a $26,838 vehicle at its Berlin factory—its cheapest model yet. BioNTech shares climbed more than 3% despite the company cutting its 2023 revenue forecast by roughly $1.1 billion due to weaker demand for its Covid vaccine developed with Pfizer. Dish Network fell over 6% after reporting third-quarter revenue of $3.7 billion, down from $4.1 billion a year earlier, and announcing that CEO Erik Carlson would step down. Lyft gained ground after the ride-hailing company said aggressive price cuts had helped it steal market share from Uber.

Commodity markets also moved. Oil prices jumped after Saudi Arabia and Russia confirmed over the weekend that they would extend their voluntary production cuts. West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, rose more than 1% to just under $82 a barrel, while Brent crude, the global standard, gained slightly less than 1% to trade below $86. The production cuts, which have been in place to support prices, signal that the world's two largest oil exporters remain committed to managing supply despite broader economic uncertainty.