The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite jumped on Thursday to notch their highest closing levels since August 2022 as Wall Street traders kept focused on debt ceiling negotiations.
The major averages ticked higher into the end of the trading session, with the broad-market index adding 0.94% to end at 4,198.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 115.14 points, or 0.34%, to close at 33,535.91 after trading down for most of the session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.51% to finish at 12,688.84. The day marked a second consecutive positive session for the major averages.
Thursday's advance boosted weekly gains for the indexes. The Nasdaq has led the charge up, on pace to end the week 3.3% higher. The S&P 500 and Dow are poised to end the week up 1.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Thursday that he's optimistic congressional negotiators could reach a deal in time for a House vote next week.
"I see the path that we can come to an agreement," McCarthy said. "And I think we have a structure now and everybody's working hard, and I mean, we're working two or three times a day, then going back getting more numbers."
His comments come with just two weeks until June 1, which is the earliest day the U.S. could default, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Jeff Kilburg, CEO of KKM Financial, said traders have been able to "look through" some of the drama surrounding the debt ceiling negotiations.
"I think the debt ceiling is personally a lot of noise, but I think investors and even traders are having a hard time ignoring," Kilburg said. "I have optimism on the market, but also optimism that we're going to find a way to move forward. The U.S. government's never truly going to walk away from their default."
Retail giant Walmart helped the market, adding 1.3% on the back of its strong financial report. The company beat Wall Street forecasts on both earnings per share and revenue in its first quarter and raised its expectations for full-year performance.
But investors' sentiment was reined in somewhat after Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said the latest economic data doesn't argue for a pause in rate hikes yet. She noted the June policy decision will be based on inflation and employment data that hasn't been released yet.
"As financial markets have been obsessing about the state of debt ceiling negotiations, the airwaves have also hosted an onslaught of Fed speakers, who have seemingly been tasked with sending a message to the markets," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial. "The message, that the Fed, at this point, has no plans to cut rates this year, but now also introducing the possibility that another rate hike could be forthcoming at the June 13-14 meeting."
