Wall Street Jumps as December Fed Rate-Cut Bets Surge

Wall Street surged on Friday as growing expectations of a December Fed rate cut outweighed concerns about expensive tech stocks. A broad rally lifted all major U.S. indexes, while Treasury yields fell and bitcoin trimmed losses.

Fresh labor data showed a surprise rise in unemployment, boosting rate-cut bets — now 73%, up sharply from 39% a day earlier. Comments from Fed’s John Williams, previously seen as hawkish, further fueled optimism for easing.

Strong earnings — especially from Nvidia — helped ease worries about overstretched AI valuations.

Market Performance (U.S.):

• Dow +1.08%

• S&P 500 +0.98%

• Nasdaq +0.88%

Global Markets:

• Europe: Lower on tech concerns and progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks

• Asia: Broad declines; Nikkei -2.40%

• Emerging markets: Sharp selloff

Currencies & Crypto:

• Dollar steady but weaker vs yen

• Bitcoin -2.9%, Ethereum -4.6%

Bonds:

• 10-year yield ↓ to 4.06%

• 2-year yield ↓ on rate-cut expectations

Commodities:

• Oil extended losses (WTI $58.06) on peace-deal hopes

• Gold slightly lower around $4,065