Wall Street closed higher on hopes that the Federal Reserve may soon take it easier on its hikes to interest rates, with the S&P 500 gaining 1 percent Thursday.
Several reports painted a picture of a split U.S. economy. The job market remains remarkably solid, but manufacturing is weakening and shoppers of all kinds are feeling pressure.
Altogether, investors saw the data pushing the Fed toward not hiking rates at its next meeting in two weeks. That would be the first time that’s happened in more than a year. The Nasdaq composite led the market’s gains as Big Tech stocks climbed….