Stocks rallied on Monday as investors digested fresh comments from top Fed officials and AI companies rebounded from last week.<\/p>\n
The S&P 500 ended the day higher by 1.6%. The Nasdaq Composite wrapped the trading day up 2.7%, its best day since May. The S&P 500 came within striking distance of achieving the same feat earlier in the session.<\/p>\n
The rally came after two top Fed officials voiced support for an interest rate cut at the central bank’s next rate-setting meetings, slated for Dec. 9 and 10.<\/p>\n
Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, told The Wall Street Journal<\/a> that she supported lowering rates due to the “vulnerable” labor market. While Daly is not a current voting member of the Fed’s Open Market Committee,” she has rarely taken a public position at odds with Fed Chair Jerome Powell,” the Journal noted.<\/p>\n Federal Reserve Governor Christoper Waller, who has a permanent vote on interest rates, also voiced concern about the labor market on Fox Business Network<\/a>. <\/p>\n “My concern is mainly [the] labor market in terms of our dual mandate,” Waller said. “So I\u2019m advocating for a rate cut at the next meeting.” <\/p>\n While Waller has been advocating for a cut for months, his and Daly’s views come as markets try to work out how the upcoming Fed meeting will go. In recent days, markets viewed a rate cut as unlikely amid a wave of cautious comments from Fed officials. <\/p>\n That all changed on Friday, when New York Fed President John Williams signaled his support for a cut and sent the chance of a rate cut soaring to around 60%. Williams also serves as vice chair of the Fed’s rate-setting committee.<\/p>\n