Stocks rose Thursday, as Wall Street tried to regain some of this month's steep losses and traders kept an eye on Treasury yields.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 116.07 points, or 0.35% to 33,666.34. The S&P 500 added 0.59% to 4,299.70 — just shy of the key 4,300 level. The Nasdaq Composite jumped about 0.83% to 13,201.28.
Stocks are headed for what's been a tough trading month and quarter. The Dow is poised to end 3% lower in September and more than 2% lower in the quarter. The S&P 500 is slated to finish the month down 4.6% and the quarter off by 3.4%. The Nasdaq is on pace to finish the month and quarter lower by 5.9% and 4.3%, respectively.
The communication services sector jumped 1.2% to lead the S&P 500 higher, boosted by a 2% gain in Meta Platforms. Intel and Cisco Systems rose 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively, lifting the Dow.
"You're just getting a little bit of reprieve from the selling pressure. Absent a big catalyst, it's usually hard to sustain such movement in one direction," Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, said. "This little bit of a pause, maybe a slight downtime shouldn't be unexpected, even amidst the kind of more negative backdrop."
The major averages got a boost as Treasury yields eased from multiyear highs. Stocks have struggled lately with rising yields and the prospects of higher interest rates for longer than expected.
The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury hit a fresh 15-year high as data out Thursday showed a still-resilient labor market with jobless claims coming in lower than expected. The benchmark rate retreated from that level later in the day.
The stock market has been taking its cues from the bond market lately with any surge in rates raising worries about a recession and sending equities to new lows. The S&P 500 hit the lowest level since June this week as the 10-year yield hit its highest since 2007.
Investors will turn their attention to the latest personal consumption expenditures price index reading due Friday. The PCE reading is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric.
Wall Street is also keeping an eye on Washington, as lawmaker negotiations on a U.S. spending bill continue before a Oct. 1 deadline. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told CNBC Thursday morning that he was confident that Congress would avoid a shutdown this weekend, though he criticized a bill proposed by the Senate for not dealing with border security. Traders have their doubts that McCarthy can get his party in the House aligned by the deadline.
