US STOCKS-S&P 500 ends slightly higher; declines briefly following Powell comments

The S&P 500 ended with slight gains on Monday after briefly falling as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank is not in a hurry to lower interest rates and he sees two more cuts, totaling 50 basis points, this year as a baseline if the economy evolves as expected.

The S&P 500 ended with slight gains on Monday after briefly falling as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank is not in a hurry to lower interest rates and he sees two more cuts, totaling 50 basis points, this year as a baseline if the economy evolves as expected. Powell, at a National Association for Business Economics conference in Nashville, Tennessee, also said recent revisions to data on economic growth, savings rates and personal income had removed some "downside risks" the Fed had been focused on.

The Fed earlier this month began a new easing cycle with a large 50 basis point rate cut. "He kept alluding to the strength of the economy... but he did allow for the possibility there could be a further cooling," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"There are more data releases coming before the November meeting, and the Fed is going to take those data releases under careful consideration." Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 16.95 points, or 0.04%, to 42,329.95, the S&P 500 gained 24.22 points, or 0.42%, to 5,762.39 and the Nasdaq Composite added 69.58 points, or 0.38%, to 18,189.17.

The S&P 500 fell following Powell's remarks. Krosby said the market was overbought heading into the day's session after recent strong gains. Key economic reports due this week include jobless claims and monthly payrolls.

CVS Health rose after a report showed hedge fund Glenview Capital Management will meet top executives at the healthcare company to propose ways to improve operations. (Additional reporting by Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel, Richard Chang and Andrea Ricci)

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