Soaring US stocks could take cues from Fed as earnings wind down

Strong corporate results have helped fuel the S&P 500’s climb to new highs this year, taking the focus away from the Federal Reserve’s tortuous path towards lower interest rates. As earnings season winds down, some investors believe monetary policy will jump back in the driver's seat. With the vast majority having reported, S&P 500 companies were on track to increase fourth-quarter earnings by 10% from the year-earlier period, according to LSEG IBES data, which would be the biggest rise since the first quarter of 2022.