Nasdaq sets record high as trading mixes

High Trading
High Trading

The U.S. stock market saw mixed trading on Monday ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting. The meeting could set Wall Street’s direction into next year. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%.

The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.2% to a record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged and fell 110 points, or 0.3%. Broadcom led the S&P 500 for a second straight day.

It leaped 11.2% on a strong profit report that beat analysts’ expectations. The technology company is driving enthusiasm with its artificial-intelligence offerings. The key event this week is the Federal Reserve’s announcement on Wednesday.

It is expected to include a rate cut for the third time this year. The Fed aims to boost the slowing job market and bring inflation down to its target of 2%. Traders will be looking to the Fed’s projections for the federal funds rate through 2025 and other economic indicators.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell will also hold a press conference following the meeting. Expectations among traders suggest the Fed may cut rates a couple more times in 2025, according to CME Group data. However, higher-than-expected inflation data and concerns over President-elect Donald Trump’s potential tariffs and policies could impact future rate cuts.

Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle has revised his forecast. He is no longer anticipating a rate cut in January. The recent series of rate cuts has helped push the S&P 500 to an all-time high.

Nasdaq climbs to new record high

This is with the economy holding up better than expected. The Fed raised the federal funds rate to a two-decade high to combat inflation, which peaked above 9% two summers ago.

Despite this, economic growth continues. MicroStrategy saw a significant intra-day boost of up to 7%. This was due to bitcoin’s recent peak.

However, its stock ended the day slightly down after bitcoin’s price retracted below $106,000, following an all-time high of $107,700. The company’s stock has surged more than sixfold this year and will soon join the Nasdaq 100 index. Honeywell’s stock rose 3.7% after announcing it is still considering a spin-off or sale of its aerospace business.

Updates are expected in its fourth-quarter results. Nvidia, whose chips are critical to AI advancements, saw a 1.7% decline. Despite this, its massive value, topping $3 trillion, weighed heavily on the S&P 500.

All told, the S&P 500 increased 22.99 points to 6,074.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 110.58 points to 43,717.48, and the Nasdaq composite rose 247.17 points to 20,173.89. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.39% from 4.40%, and the two-year yield eased to 4.24% from 4.25%. Stocks abroad saw modest declines across Europe and Asia. In Hong Kong, indexes fell 0.9%, and in Shanghai, they dropped 0.2% after lackluster economic indicators for November.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.2% amid political turmoil.

Harper Johnson

Harper Johnson stands at the forefront of digital marketing, where she dissects and interprets the impact of online advertising trends, social media dynamics, and search engine algorithms on consumer behavior.

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