Stocks - Techs Rise and Rate-Cut Hopes Boost Market

Investing.com – Stocks rallied for a second day in a row, pushed higher by gains in big tech stocks and continued hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.

The gains weren't nearly as dramatic as Tuesday when the market soared in its biggest rally since Jan. 4. The S&P 500 moved up 0.82%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.82%, and the NASDAQ Compositerose 0.64%.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) led tech stocks higher, and a late-buying surge helped Boeing (NYSE:BA) add 28 points to the Dow.

When and if the Fed will make a move on interest rates is open to question. Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool projects an 80% chance the central bank will leave rates alone at its June 18-19 meeting.

But some traders believed the chances for a cut improved after the ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) employment report was weaker than expected. The U.S. Labor Department will report on job growth and unemployment on Friday.

The market's gains were limited in part by weakness in energy stocks after oil prices tumbled. WTI fell 3.4% to $51.68 a barrel and Brent, the global benchmark, dropped 2.2% to $60.63 after briefly falling below $60 a barrel for the first time since late January.

But there was hope that the Trump administration would delay imposing new tariffs on goods shipped into the United States from Mexico. President Donald Trump said he believed Mexico wants to agree to a deal cracking down on illegal immigration.

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