Once again, another day sees mega tech stocks taking center stage with another rally. Shares of prominent players such as Apple, Alphabet, Tesla, and Broadcom all soared to new all-time highs, propelling the tech-heavy Nasdaq to its own record peak. The Nasdaq ended the day up by 1.24%, closing at a historic high of 20,173.89 points. Meanwhile, the broad S&P 500 index also saw gains, rising by 0.38% to finish at 6,074.08 points. However, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average continued its downward trend, marking its eighth consecutive session in decline, the longest streak since 2018. The Dow closed down by 0.25%, or 110.58 points, at 43,717.48.
All eyes are now focused on the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, set to conclude on Wednesday afternoon. While it is widely anticipated that the Fed will once again trim its short-term benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point, many economists predict that the central bank may indicate a slower pace of rate cuts in the upcoming year and make revisions to its economic outlook. “This may potentially be the final rate cut for the foreseeable future,” stated Jacob Channel, a senior economist at LendingTree. “Given the potential impact of the upcoming Trump Administration’s policies on inflation and the overall economic balance, the Fed could opt for a cautious approach, choosing to maintain interest rates at the current levels in their January meeting.”
Among the notable winners of the day was Broadcom (AVGO), the chip software company, which sustained its rally following a strong earnings report released late Thursday and an optimistic outlook. Its shares have surged by over 120% for the year. Additionally, Bitcoin experienced a significant surge, reaching an all-time high above $107,000 after MicroStrategy disclosed its purchase of an additional 15,350 bitcoins, increasing its total holdings to 439,000, valued at approximately $46 billion.
Conversely, some companies faced significant declines, with Super Micro Computer (SMCI), an AI server company, revealing the resignation of its auditor earlier in the fall and the subsequent removal of its shares from the Nasdaq-100. Nvidia (NVDA), an AI chip company, also experienced a slip in its share price, officially entering correction territory, as traders observed a decrease of more than 10% from its recent closing high of $148.88 reached last month. Analysts noted a shift in investment towards other AI-related companies following Nvidia’s remarkable 166% increase in share value this year.
In other market developments, the price of oil experienced a 1% decline, settling at $70.58 per barrel after China reported weaker-than-expected retail sales data. The 10-year Treasury yield also dipped to 4.397% in anticipation of the expected Fed rate cut.
