Tech Weakness Drags Nasdaq; Dow Gains on Healthcare Rally Amid Fed Rate Cut Hopes

Nasdaq slipped as Palantir tumbled 7.5% on U.S. Army concerns, while Tesla and Nvidia eased. Dow rose 0.5% led by healthcare gains. Markets now see a near 97% chance of an October Fed rate cut amid delayed economic data.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 63.54 points (0.3%) to 22,780.51, the S&P 500 crept up 0.44 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,715.79 and the Dow climbed 238.56 points (0.5%) to 46,758.28.

The Nasdaq pulled back as major tech stocks weakened, with Palantir plunging 7.5% after a Reuters report revealed a U.S. Army memo citing ?fundamental security? issues in its battlefield network project. Tesla slipped 1.4% and Nvidia dipped 0.7% after hitting a record high the previous session.

Broader markets stayed muted as the ongoing U.S. government shutdown delayed key economic data, including the monthly jobs report. However, weak private employment and services data raised confidence that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates, with markets pricing in a 96.7% chance of a quarter-point cut in October and an 84.9% chance in December.

Healthcare stocks notably moved upwards with the Dow Jones Health Care Index climbing by 1.1% to its best closing level in over six months. Telecom, banking and airline stocks too saw some strength while retail and semiconductor stocks moved downwards.

Asia-Pacific stocks turned in a mixed performance while Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 1.9%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.5%. European stocks moved mostly higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.7% and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3%, although the German DAX Index bucked the uptrend and dipped by 0.2%.

In the bond market, treasuries moved back to the downside after trending higher over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 3.1 basis points to 4.11%.

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