Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Has Record Close, Dow Edges Up; PCE Inflation Report; Nvidia, Best Buy, Marathon Digital, C3 ai, and More Movers, Bitcoin Chasing Record

It was a broad-based slide, with all eleven sectors of the market heading lower. Those three groups stand to get hit the hardest if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates even more aggressively to try and get inflation under control. Stocks rose to start the last week of the year, pushing the S&P 500 closer to record levels. Leveraged trading in foreign currency or off-exchange products on margin carries significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors. We advise you to carefully consider whether trading is appropriate for you based on your personal circumstances. This information is made available for informational purposes only.

Stocks opened higher on Tuesday to kick off the holiday-shortened trading week. The market is feeling good about the prospects of a soft landing. All 11 sectors of the benchmark index were higher in afternoon trading, helping the index rise 0.5%. Real estate, utilities and industrials were the best Forex Brokers performing sectors, all up about 0.8%. On the other hand, communication services posted the smallest gain with a 0.3% advance. Wall Street came into the holiday-shortened week with momentum, after the S&P 500 on Friday registered its eighth straight weekly advance and longest streak since 2017.

1. Stocks finished higher to kick off the final trading week of 2023.
2. The tech-heavy index sank in 2022 amid soaring inflation and rising interest rates.
3. The Dow and the S&P both locked in their best two-month start to the year since 2019.
4. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% to 16,091.92, based on preliminary numbers, topping its previous closing record of 16,057.44 from November 2021.
5. The tech sector was hit particularly hard Tuesday, as investors ratcheted up their bets for a historically large interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve next week.
6. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fared even worse, tumbling 3.6% and 4.5% respectively.

Forward-looking investors are now anticipating the rate cuts, leaving less room for a boost when the policies go into effect, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, previously told ABC News. All that spending and investment fuels economic activity, raising company valuations and pushing stock prices higher, Cox said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to an all-time high this week, taking flight after the Federal Reserve signaled interest rate cuts next year. Snowflake stock was down over 19% after it reported disappointing guidance and the departure of its CEO.

The market has grown increasingly nervous that the Fed will raise rates faster and higher than expected to get inflation under control. The stock market sell-off following black bull markets review Tuesday’s inflation report is turning into a rout. Wall Street’s big fear is that higher rates will eventually lead to an economic slowdown or even a recession.

Stock futures tick higher to start the week

“Whether it comes from commercial real estate, whether it is going to be further bank failures, or whether it’s going to be a credit crunch. I think the impact is going to be failing.” The S&P 500 was propelled higher by a broad rally among member stocks on Tuesday. The S&P 500 inched closer to a new closing high in Tuesday’s session. “I don’t love the term, but if you were to describe what is happening it’s definitely Goldilocks for the market,” said Jan Szilagyi, CEO and co-founder of Toggle AI. “Inflation’s coming down, the economy is still chugging along, and the hiking cycle’s over. On all of these macro trends, the rally has been justified.” Traders are further net-short than yesterday and last week, and the combination of current sentiment and recent changes gives us a stronger Wall Street-bullish contrarian trading bias.

There are no fixed times for reviewing the composition of the index, since changes are only made by the commission as and when they are needed. While current buyers include retail investors, independent advisors, and hedge funds, there’s an “even bigger wave” of demand coming.

The index’s best performer is RayzeBio, which doubled on news it’s being acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb. A handful of stocks in the S&P 500 hit fresh highs during Tuesday’s session. That included Lululemon and Arista Networks, which last traded near levels not seen since their respective initial public offerings in 2007 and 2014. But the economy will likely avert a major stumbling block next year, Sekera added, allowing inflation to reach the Fed’s target rate while avoiding a downturn.

Traders may have made the mistake of assuming that inflation would soon no longer be a major economic problem. As stocks settle after the trading day, levels might still change slightly. The S&P 500 ended Tuesday’s session within striking distance of record levels.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Live Index Chart

That prompted Glenmede chief investment officer of private wealth Jason Pride to note in a report that these are the most dramatic annual price increases for food since Sony released the Walkman portable cassette player. Oil prices climbed more than 2% on Tuesday as investors monitored conflict in the Middle East and the likelihood of forthcoming U.S. interest rate cuts. Those moves come as investors cheer recent data showing inflation is moving closer toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Expectations of potential rate cuts in the new year have also lifted equities in recent weeks. U.S. inflation data today met expectations and markets are starting to turn their focus to February employment data due late next week.

“All it does is leave idle barrels on the sidelines getting stuffed into storage.” Expectations that the cuts will remain have supported crude this week. Following January’s higher-than-expected growth in payrolls of 353,000, Capital Economics’ Andrew Hunter forecasts a still strong 250,000 reading, while wage growth would continue a downward trend. The Dow and the S&P both locked in their best two-month start to the year since 2019. The Nasdaq couldn’t top its 9.5% gain through February to start 2023. All three marked their best start to an election year since 2012.

Investors are incredibly anxious about inflation, which refuses to go away. The Dow plummeted more than 1,050 points, or 3.3%, in late afternoon trading Tuesday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fared even worse, tumbling 3.6% and 4.5% respectively. Bristol Myers Squibb said Tuesday it will acquire radiopharmaceutical therapeutics company RayzeBio for $62.50 per share.

When rates go down, borrowing becomes less expensive for businesses and consumers, propelling companies to invest in new projects and everyday people to stretch for bigger purchases. January 12-month core PCE price index rose 2.8%, bitit review slowing from December’s 2.9% pace, but still above the Fed’s 2% target. Stocks rose after the core personal consumption expenditures index came in exactly as economists forecast at an increase of 0.4% on a monthly basis in January.

But investors have another inflation report to (fear? dread? seems unlikely that anyone is looking forward to it) on Wednesday. Tuesday’s gains extend last week’s advance as the Israel-Hamas war shows little signs of a resolution. Growing confidence that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in 2024 also helped oil prices. “I think that we’re very much priced for perfection, if you think about the rally. We’ve only priced in now that soft landing scenario,” Senyek told CNBC’s ‘Squawk on the Street’ earlier Tuesday.

Small-cap stocks are storming back in February

And the price of Bitcoin was rising, pushing closer to its all-time high. Earlier, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge came in as expected. The core personal consumption expenditures price index increased 0.4% on a monthly basis in January. The situation on Wall Street was ugly midmorning Tuesday, as investors grew increasingly nervous about the prospect of even higher rate hikes that could last for a longer period of time.

Already, the Fed has raised rates by a historic half point and then twice by three quarters of a point. Now a full point is on the table for this month (albeit unlikely), and the market fears the Fed may have to keep raising rates by historic amounts until it slows price gains — with hiring, the stock market and the economy as collateral damage. The Dow plummeted nearly 900 points in late morning trading…and all 30 Dow components were in the red. Nine Dow stocks, including tech giants Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Salesforce (CRM), were down more than 4% each. The tech sector was hit particularly hard Tuesday, as investors ratcheted up their bets for a historically large interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve next week. The Dow was down 1,300 points, or 4%, with minutes to go before the closing bell mercifully rings on Wall Street.

Stock Market News Today, 02/16/24 – Futures Mixed After a Strong Session

WTI for April delivery settles down 0.4% at $78.26, but is up 3.2% on the month. April Brent expires at $83.62, off 0.1% on the day and up 2.3% for the month. “We’re trying to make do at 81.5%. The rate is always low at this time of year, but that run-rate is beaten down to the ground,” he says.