Wall Street edges higher as investors assess rate cut path

The news: US stocks closed modestly higher after data showed steady business activity in September, but investors are awaiting fresh clues on the path of the Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.

The numbers: Among the main indices: Dow Jones was up 0.15%, S&P 500 up 0.28%, Nasdaq up 0.14%. Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ended higher, with energy stocks rising 1.31% to lead gains, while healthcare stocks declined 0.25%. That came after S&P’s flash US Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, showed little change at 54.4 this month compared to a final reading of 54.6 in August.

The context: The Federal Reserve's pivotal move last week pushed major indexes to monthly gains, defying the historical trend of September as a weak month for equities. Trader bets initially favoured a larger Fed move at its upcoming November meeting, but the bets have swayed since then and now appear to be a coin-toss.

Among rate-sensitive growth stocks, Tesla jumped 4.65%, while Meta Platforms rose 0.6% after Citigroup lifted its price target on the stock. Among top movers, Intel rose 3.05% after a media report said Apollo offered to make an investment of as much as USD5 billion ($7.3 billion) in the chipmaker. General Motors slipped 1.72% after Bernstein downgraded the carmaker's stock to ‘market perform’.