Stocks are coming into the end of the year on a strong note.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to its highest level of 2023 after rising 520 points, or 1.47 percent, on Thursday. In November, the Dow climbed eight percent. Year to date, the Dow is up around 8.5 percent.
The best-performing stock on the Dow Thursday were Salesforce, which jumped 9.35 percent. The worst performer was Intel, which fell by half a percentage point.
The S&P 500 rose by 0.38 percent on Thursday. Eight out of the eleven sectors of the S&P rose, with healthcare, industrials, and financials leading. Consumer discretionary, information technology, and communications services fell.
For the month, the S&P 500 is up by over 10 percent. Year to date, the S&P 500 is up 18.52 percent.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.23 percent on Thursday but it is up 8.92 percent for the month and 37 percent so far this year.
Stocks were bolstered by the growing conviction among traders that the Federal Reserve is done hiking interest rates and that the U.S. economy will avoid a recession next year. On Thursday, the personal consumption expenditure price index—which the Fed uses for its inflation forecasts and two percent target—indicated that inflation continued to cool in October.
Bonds have also been on the rise. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note had its best month since 2019, according to the Wall Street Journal, as yields fell from 4.9 percent to 4.3 percent. Yields fall as bond prices rise.
