The Nasdaq closed at a record high on Monday and the S&P 500 also rose as investors gauged the latest economic data while looking toward the Federal Reserve's final policy announcement of the year later in the week to gauge the path of interest rates.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 110.58 points, or 0.25%, to 43,717.48, the S&P 500 gained 22.99 points, or 0.38%, to 6,074.08 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 247.17 points, or 1.24%, to 20,173.89.
Market Movers
Palantir Technologies was down 0.4%, MicroStrategy was flat, and Axon Enterprise rose 0.7% as the three companies were added to the Nasdaq 100 index as part of its annual reconstitution. They will be replacing Moderna, which was flat, Super Micro Computer, down 8.3%, and Illumina, up 0.4%. The changes, announced late Friday, will take effect before the market opens on Dec. 23. The changes were expected because the reconstitution adds companies with the highest markets values in the Nasdaq Composite index that aren't in the Nasdaq 100 and drops companies with the lowest market values.
Super Micro has asked Evercore to help the AI server maker raise capital, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter. The company is considering raising equity and debt to shore up its finances, Bloomberg reported. The company has delayed filing its latest financial reports but earlier this month received an extension until Feb. 25, which helped it avoid the immediate threat of delisting from the Nasdaq.
Besides being added to the Nasdaq 100, MicroStrategy was getting a lift from Bitcoin's move above $107,000 over the past 24 hours. The business software company is the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency. MicroStrategy disclosed in a filing that it bought 15,350 Bitcoins for around $1.5 billion last week, at an average price of $100,386.
Crypto-linked stocks also were trading higher. Coinbase Global, Robinhood Markets, and Mara Holdings rose 1.5%, 7.5%, and 8.1%, respectively.
Broadcom was up 11% to $250, which is another record closing high after the semiconductor and software company rose 24% on Friday and finished with a market cap greater than $1 trillion for the first time. The 24% jump was the stock's largest one-day gain on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Broadcom said artificial-intelligence revenue soared 220% in its fiscal year and CEO Hock Tan saying the company's AI market opportunity for accelerators and networking in fiscal 2027 would range from $60 billion to $90 billion.
Micron Technology jumped 5.6%. Earnings from the largest maker of memory chips in the U.S. are scheduled for Wednesday. Ahead of the report, Citi said Wall Street should expect profit to fall short of consensus, and revenue that could match projections. However, Citi said an earnings miss offers an opportunity to buy the stock.
Honeywell International rose 3.7% after the industrial company said it has been considering a spinoff of its aerospace business about a month after activist investor Elliott Investment Management suggested Honeywell break into two companies, one serving the aerospace market and the other supplying the automation market.
Tesla gained 6.1% to $463.02. The electric-vehicle company rose 4.3% on Friday after Reuters reported President-elect Donald Trump probably would end a program requiring auto makers to report accidents that occur while vehicles are using advanced-driver-assistance systems. On Sunday, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives raised his price target on the stock to a Wall Street-high of $515 a share, up from $400, saying the "autonomous future is coming sooner." He expects Trump to fast track initiatives that makes launching self-driving cars easier.
Ford Motor declined 3.9% to $9.99 following a downgrade to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies. Analysts also reduced the price target to $9 from $12. "We downgrade Ford to underperform on a combination of earnings pressure and a set of challenging decisions ahead. We acknowledge restructuring actions could trigger positive reactions, but we are concerned about timing and the impact on balance sheet," Jefferies said in a research note.
Market News
Trump meets with TikTok CEO as company asks Supreme Court to block ban on app
TikTok on Monday asked the Supreme Court to block a law that could effectively ban the popular social media app in the United States by Jan. 19.
On the same day, President-elect Donald Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, NBC News confirmed.
Bitcoin rises to new record above $107,000 ahead of this week’s Fed decision
Bitcoin rallied to a new all-time high on Monday as investors awaited an expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve later this week.
The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by nearly 3% at $106,126.74, according to Coin Metrics. Earlier it rose as high as $107,229.38, a new record. Ether rose 3% to break through the key $4,000 level. The broader crypto market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 index, traded more than 1% higher.
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