NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes fluctuated Monday in mixed trading ahead of this week’s index. Federal Reserve Board Meeting That could determine the direction of Wall Street next year.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4%. First losing week in the last 4 weeks. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.2% to a record high, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged behind, dropping 110 points (0.3%).
Broadcom soared 11.2% last week after reporting a profit that beat analysts’ expectations, helping it top the S&P 500 for the second day in a row. The technology company is riding a wave of enthusiasm, especially when it comes to its artificial intelligence products.
But the biggest market event will come on Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve announces its final move on interest rates for the year. After bringing inflation down to near its 2% target, there are widespread expectations that the central government will cut its key policy interest rate for the third time in a row in a bid to boost a slowing job market.
The question is how much more they will cut rates next year, and after the meeting, Fed officials are expected to release their outlook for the federal funds rate through the end of 2025, along with other economic indicators. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will also answer questions at a press conference after the meeting.
The prevailing expectation among traders right now is that the Fed could cut rates several more times in 2025, according to data from CME Group. But then such expectations dwindled report This suggests that it may be even more difficult to bring inflation down to 2%. In addition to the slight acceleration in inflation last month, another concern is that President-elect Donald Trump’s tariffs and other policy preferences could lead to higher inflation in the future.
For example, Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle dropped his earlier prediction that the Fed would cut interest rates in January. Beyond the possibility of additional tariffs, he said, Fed officials are slowing the pace of rate cuts due to uncertainty over exactly how low interest rates need to be to avoid putting the brakes on the economy. He said he may want to delay it.
Expectations for a series of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve are one of the main reasons the S&P 500 index has hit a new all-time high. 57 times this year so far and heading towards one of them best years of the millennium. The economy has held up better than many feared after the Fed raised the federal funds rate to a 20-year high in hopes of curbing inflation, which topped 9% two summers ago. , continues to grow.
On Wall Street, MicroStrategy continues to benefit, with intraday gains of up to 7%. Bitcoin price soaringreached a new all-time high. However, the company’s stock ended the day down less than 0.1% as Bitcoin price fell below $106,000 after setting a record above $107,700, according to CoinDesk.
The software company has built a gold mine of cryptocurrencies, with its stock price rising more than six times this year. It will soon be added to the Nasdaq 100 index.
Bitcoin prices have soared from around $44,000 at the beginning of the year, riding a recent wave of enthusiasm. playing cards We will build a system called Favorable for digital currencies.
Honeywell rose 3.7% as it said it was still considering spinning off or selling its aerospace business as part of a review of its overall business. The company said it plans to provide the latest information when it announces its fourth quarter results.
They helped offset a decline for Nvidia, whose chips are driving the world’s transition to AI. The company’s stock price fell 1.7%. It has grown so hugely, with a total value of over $3 trillion, that it has become the heaviest weight in the S&P 500.
Overall, the S&P 500 rose 22.99 points to 6,074.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell $110.58 to $43,717.48, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose $247.17 to $20,173.89.
In the bond market, US Treasury yields remained relatively stable. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell slightly to 4.39% from 4.40% late Friday. The yield on the two-year Treasury note, which more accurately reflects expectations for the Fed, fell to 4.24% from 4.25%.
In overseas stock markets, indexes in Europe and most of Asia declined slightly.
It subsequently fell by 0.9% in Hong Kong and 0.2% in Shanghai. China Despite attempts to strengthen the world’s second-largest economy, it reported lackluster economic data in November.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.2% as law enforcement authorities pressed ahead with impeachment charges. President Yoon Seok-yeol The Constitutional Court met to question the short-term martial law and debate whether to remove him from office or reinstate him.
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AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
