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Dow jumps after Trump picks Scott Bessent for Treasury
US stocks were mostly higher Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) touching intraday record highs amid optimism over President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary. Investors also looked ahead for a price check in the form of a Federal Reserve-favored inflation print.
The Dow rose 0.7%, or about 300 points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) hovered near the flatline, weighed by shares of Nvidia (NVDA) sliding 3%.
Stocks kicked off a holiday-shortened week with more of the upbeat mood that lifted the gauges to weekly wins. Markets will shut on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and close early on Friday. The Dow closed last week at a record high, gaining almost 2% on the week. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were both up over 1.5% as they crept closer to the initial levels seen after the election.
Trump tapped Bessent, viewed as the “investor favorite” pick for Treasury, late Friday evening after a surprisingly drawn-out process that saw candidates’ stocks seem to rise and fall by the day. Bessent’s nomination has seemed to at least temporarily calm nerves over the president-elect’s inflationary agenda, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) dipping back under 4.3%.
On the inflationary front, the Fed will get its preferred look at the picture heading into Trump’s term with Wednesday’s release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index. Economists expect a tick up in “core” PCE, which is closely watched by the central bank.
Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC-USD) was in search of a milestone $100,000-per-coin level amid a near-50% surge over the past month. It was back down near the $95,000 mark on Monday, however.
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Nvidia hits session lows, down 3.5%
Nvidia (NVDA) shares dropped to session lows, sinking more than 3% on Monday.
The AI chip heavyweight was the worst performer among the ‘Magnificent 7’ stocks. Tesla (TSLA) shares fell more than 1% while Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) rose more than 1%.
Nvidia’s slide weighed on the Nasdaq, which briefly turned negative by 12:20 p.m. ET.
Netflix (NFLX) shares also slid 3%, keeping a lid on the tech-heavy index.
Small cap stocks hit highest level in three years
The Russell 2000 (^RUT) rose more than 2% on Monday to hit its highest level since November 2021.
The small cap index has rallied in recent months as the Fed began its interest rate cutting cycle, fueling expectations of less expensive financing.
The Russell 2000 is up more than 20% year-to-date, with much of those gains occurring since early August.
S&P 500 seen reaching 6,600 next year by strategists at RBC, Barclays
Two more Wall Street strategists are projecting the bull market in US stocks will roll on in 2025.
On Monday, equity strategy teams at Barclays and RBC Capital Markets both issued a year-end target price of 6,600 for the S&P 500 (^GSPC) in 2025. The targets suggest a roughly 10.5% gain in the benchmark index over the next twelve months, about in line with the long-term historical average annual return over the past century.
“The story the data tells us is that another year of solid economic and earnings growth, some political tailwinds, and some additional relief on inflation (which should keep the S&P 500’s P/E elevated) can keep stocks moving higher in the year ahead,” RBC Capital Markets head of US equity strategy Lori Calvasina wrote in a note to clients on Monday.
Venu Krishna, head of US equity strategy at Barclays, wrote that with “inflation continuing to normalize, resilient macro, and Big Tech maintaining EPS growth leadership,” the S&P 500 should continue its march higher.
MicroStrategy spends $5.4 billion buying another 55,000 bitcoins
MicroStrategy (MSTR) said Monday it purchased another 55,000 worth of bitcoin last week for $5.4 billion as the world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading at all-time highs.
MicroStrategy stock recovered from a loss of more than 7% in early trading.
In a filing with the SEC, MicroStrategy said it spent $5.4 billion to acquire these bitcoin between Nov. 18-24, buying the bitcoin at an average price of $97,862.
The company said it used proceeds from convertible notes and share sales to fund the purchase.
The application software company, which has become a bitcoin proxy, has been buying tokens since 2020.
In recent weeks, it has intensified its purchases as bitcoin has rallied to highs above $99,000 following Donald Trump’s presidential win earlier this month.
As of Sunday, MicroStrategy held a total of approximately 386,700 bitcoins, acquired for an aggregate purchase price of about $21.9 billion and an average purchase price of approximately $56,761 per bitcoin.
Oil drops more than 2% on report of Israel-Lebanon ceasefire
Oil dropped to session lows on a report that a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah may have been reached.
West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) sank more than 2% to hover below $70 per barrel, while Brent (BZ=F), the international benchmark, traded below $74 per barrel.
Axios reported on Monday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to terms of a ceasefire, citing a senior US official.
Earlier, the Israeli ambassador to Washington said in a radio interview on Monday that deal points still need to be finalized but an agreement “can happen within days.”
Nvidia slides as AI chip darling extends losses
Nvidia (NVDA) shares dropped as much as 3% in early trading as the AI chip heavyweight failed to participate in the rest of the market gains.
Nvidia shares extended their decline from Friday’s session, despite the company beating on quarterly results announced last week.
The AI chipmaker has been a leader in the overall markets this year, accounting for roughly 20% of the S&P 500’s performance.
Stocks open higher after Trump picks Bessent for Treasury secretary
US stocks rose on Monday as investors await the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation this week and after President-elect Donald Trump announced his pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) led the advance, up roughly 0.7%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.5%, while those the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up almost 0.6%.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index will be released this Wednesday, giving investors clues on what the Fed’s next move with interest rates may be.
The “Magnificent Seven” stocks were mostly higher, with the exception of Nvidia (NVDA), down more than 1%, extending its declines
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