The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) notched a record close on Monday while the opposite two major averages slid as investors weighed the approaching arrival of rate of interest cuts and braced for a busy week dominated by Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose greater than 0.1% to shut at a recent high of 41,240.52. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank roughly 0.8%.
Technology lagged in the course of the session as shares of AI chip giant Nvidia fell 2% together with semiconductor peer Broadcom (AVGO) and EV maker Tesla (TSLA).
Stocks are coming off weekly gains, notched after Chair Jerome Powell made it crystal clear the Fed is able to pivot to lowering rates in September. The main indexes all gained greater than 1% last week.
Markets quickly moved to price in cuts totaling 1% by the top of 2024. But with only three Fed meetings left within the yr — in September, November, and December — and the August jobs report still to come back, Wall Street is wondering when and whether a 0.5% cut is probably going.
Now, the main focus is firmly on Nvidia’s earnings report — the marquee event of the week — which is able to likely determine whether the market mood stays upbeat. If the chipmaker’s results on Wednesday fail to fulfill sky-high expectations, that would further dent the AI trade, which has powered stock gains, and, in turn, put the market’s rebound from August lows to the test.
Also ahead is a Friday update on Fed policymakers’ preferred inflation gauge, the PCE index print, which is prone to feed into rate-path calculations. Also on deck is a reading on second quarter GDP on Thursday.
Meanwhile, oil prices jumped around 3% amid reports of production shutdowns in Libya and fears of escalating Mideast tensions after Israel and Hezbollah launched strikes. Global benchmark Brent crude futures (BZ=F) settled at $81.43 a barrel, while US benchmark WTI crude futures (CL=F) closed at $77.42 a barrel.
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