Most Stocks Rise on Manufacturing, Warsh’s Remarks: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Signs of economic strength alongside easing price pressures lifted most stocks in the US, with Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh saying inflation risks have come down.

Economically sensitive corners of Wall Street outperformed after data showed manufacturing activity expanded for a sixth straight month as a war-driven surge in input costs cooled. While the majority of firms in the S&P 500 rose, a slide in chipmakers left the index wavering. Treasury two-year yields fell. Oil sank as the US said indirect talks with Iran were positive.

“Expectations of inflation over the first four weeks of this period have come down, inflation risks have come down,” Warsh said Wednesday at the European Central Bank’s annual Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal. He doubled down on a message from his first press conference as Fed chairman last month that the central bank will deliver price stability.

Warsh also repeated he isn’t going to offer “forward guidance” with regard to upcoming interest-rate policy.

“At a minimum, his comments provided no fuel for speculation on a near-term July rate hike, and in our view suggest the new Fed chair – while keeping all options open meeting by meeting – does not currently see cause for an immediate hike,” said Krishna Guha at Evercore.

The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing gauge held close to a four-year high in June. Prices paid for raw materials rose at a slower pace. The group’s price measure saw the largest single-month drop since July 2022 as an interim agreement between the US and Iran sent oil prices tumbling.

“With oil prices back around their pre-Iran war levels, the prices paid index – which fell in June – probably has further to fall,” said Ariane Curtis at Capital Economics.

In the run-up to the US employment reading, data showed private-sector job creation was solid again in June, capping the best three-month stretch for hiring in more than a year.

The government’s payrolls report due Thursday is expected to show US employers added 115,000 jobs in June. That would mark the strongest six-month stretch for hiring since mid-2024.

“A number a bit above 100,000 and stability in the unemployment rate is the best-case scenario for this market, as it reinforces solid economic growth, but it won’t make rate hikes more likely,” said Tom Essaye at The Sevens Report.

Corporate Highlights:

Meta Platforms Inc. is developing plans for a cloud infrastructure business that will sell access to AI computing power and models, setting up a new vector of competition with industry leaders like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. Alphabet Inc.’s Google was ordered to pay almost $2 billion to Klarna Group Plc’s Pricerunner unit in a dispute over the search-engine giant’s abuse of power in the market for comparison shopping services. Software shares rose after Guggenheim upgraded a trio of companies, saying fears that artificial intelligence poses a mortal threat to the sector are overdone. Alcoa Corp. has agreed to buy South32 Ltd.’s bauxite, alumina and aluminum assets in a deal worth as much as $5.6 billion, cementing its position as a top producer as long-term demand strengthens and the Iran war exposes supply concerns. General Mills Inc. posted fourth-quarter profit that beat Wall Street expectations, lifted by higher prices. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 was little changed as of 2 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.2% The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% The MSCI World Index was little changed Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2% The euro fell 0.4% to $1.1381 The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3281 The Japanese yen was little changed at 162.53 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin rose 2.5% to $60,135.85 Ether rose 3.1% to $1,622.61 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.46% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.88% Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.76% The yield on 2-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.15% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.9% to $68.18 a barrel Spot gold rose 1.5% to $4,069.63 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.