STORY: U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday. Investors welcomed both a vote in Congress to suspend the U.S. government’s debt ceiling as well as signs of slowing wage growth, suggesting inflation may be loosening its grip.
The Dow rose half of one percent. The S&P 500 added one percent and the Nasdaq climbed nearly 1-point-3 percent.
Sanders Morris Harris Chairman George Ball says he expects the market to continue moving higher.
“The market is today reflecting relief. We’re not going to have a debt crisis. The politicians have had their 60 seconds of great Outcome National TV that’s driving the markets. The economy is not tanking. That’s good. Job openings? Well, that’s good. And and a big part of it is that investors and speculators both are of a positive mindset and the the interpretive bias is going to drive the markets higher for at least the time being.“
A report from ADP showed wage inflation is slowing while a separate report from the labor department indicated labor costs increased less than anticipated in the first quarter.
Friday the Labor Department releases the May jobs report which could determine whether the Federal Reserve raises interest rates again at its meeting later this month.
Stocks on the move included Dollar General which dropped nearly 20 percent after the dollar store chain cut its sales and profit forecasts for the year.
And Salesforce which fell 5 percent after the software company posted its slowest pace of revenue growth in 13 years.