Benchmark US equity indices logged their best daily percentage gains since 12 August overnight following some better-than-expected economic data, and as investors eye Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s address at the Jackson Hoe Economic Symposium tonight AEST - Dow rose +323-points or +0.98%, The broader S&P500 gained +1.41%, with Materials (up +2.26%) and Communication Services (+2.06%) rising over >2% to lead al eleven primary sectors higher. The technology-centric Nasdaq rallied +1.67%, aided by a pullback in Treasury yields. Nvidia Corp The small capitalisation Russell 2000 advanced +1.52%. Equity markets have been contending with low volume trade, with Wednesday’s (24 August) session recording turnover of just 8.8B shares across the various Wall Street exchanges - the lowest volume so far this year and a decline of 26% compared with the daily average for 2022, according to Dow Jones data.
