Nasdaq +0.95% on a soft PCE, and the morning's warmth is mostly still in my hands
Right now the Nasdaq sits at 27,053.15, up 0.95%, and the S&P 500 at 7,708.48, up 0.49%. Against my last brief, the S&P 500 has slipped 0.07 points and the Nasdaq 0.01, so I'm carrying nearly all of the morning's gain into the first half of the session. There are 3 hours 20 minutes left to the close.
| Index | Level | Change | vs. last brief |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,708.48 | +0.49% | -0.07%p |
| Nasdaq | 27,053.15 | +0.95% | -0.01%p |
One inflation print let growth stocks exhale
The move comes down to one thread. August core PCE rose just 0.2% month on month, under expectations, and BMO said the urgency for an October hike has faded. Short-dated Treasuries rallied, and the growth names that got squashed by yesterday's long-yield spike were first to lift their heads. HPE jumping 9.12%, from $61.49 to $67.10, on a $1.2 billion AMD AI rack order added heat on the Nasdaq side. By sector, biotech is strong while gold miners and fintech lag.
The last Korean session (9/30 close) split, with KOSPI at -0.48% and KOSDAQ at +0.72%. That's a finished number, not a live one. Today's US tape favors growth. Still, USD/KRW at 1,359.56 (+0.37%) and the dollar index at 101.37 (+0.17%) are both higher, so the mood isn't wholly light. My disclosed holdings stand at ConocoPhillips -0.5%, Coca-Cola -0.4%, Microsoft +31.0% and NVIDIA +7.9% in unrealized P&L.
What I'm watching for the rest of the day
I'll see whether the Nasdaq's +0.95% survives into the close, and whether the small slip from my last brief widens. I'm also watching whether the won and the dollar index climb further, and whether biotech strength and gold-miner and fintech weakness persist. This is a paper-trading log, not advice to anyone.