The DOW JONES rose a slight 0.01% to 44,648 points, while the S&P 500 fell 0.13% to 6,082 points. The NASDAQ fell 0.28% to 19,803 points.
Wall Street is coming off a bittersweet last week: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at new records on Friday, rising 1% and 3.3% for the week as a whole, respectively. The Dow Jones, however, closed the week with a drop of 0.6% despite the fact that on Wednesday it closed above 45,000 points for the first time in history.
Those moves came after the November jobs report showed stronger-than-expected growth, but not enough to undermine investors’ hopes that the Federal Reserve will lower rates at its December meeting. CME Group’s FedWatch tool currently shows that markets predict an 87% probability that the target rate will be reduced by 25 points at the meeting concluded on December 18.
The employment data “were neither too weak to indicate that the economy is cooling, nor too strong to prevent the Fed from lowering its interest rates next week,” says Juan J. Fernández-Figares, of Link Management.
The institution is currently in its silent period ahead of its monetary policy meeting, but investors will have a final update on its decision-making with key inflation data due this week. The consumer price index (CPI) for November, due to be released on Wednesday, is expected to show a slight pick-up in price pressures. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect a monthly and annual increase of 0.3% and 2.7%, respectively. That would be an increase from 0.2% and 2.6%, respectively, the previous month.
“Readings higher than projected could call into question such action by the Fed, which would generate tension in the US stock and bond markets,” adds Fernández-Figares.
At the moment, in fixed income, always very sensitive to the outlook for monetary policy, the ten-year bond offers a yield of 4.18%. The two-year bond pays 4.12%.
In the business field, investors have to take into account that Oracle will publish its quarterly results today, although they will have to wait until the close of regular trading.
NVIDIA shares fell just over 2% in the early stages of trading amid reports that the Chinese regulator is investigating the company for possible violations of antitrust law. The Chinese Government has announced that its State Administration for Market Regulation began an investigation into the company, which has accumulated a revaluation of 187% in 2024.
Workday and Apollo Global Management rose 8.36% and 56.17%, respectively, at the opening, after learning that they will join the S&P 500 as of December 23. They will replace Qorvo and Amentum Holdings.
Interpublic Group soars 12.6% buoyed by reports that Omnicom Group is in advanced talks to acquire the advertising company. Omnicom shares fall 3.94%.
AJGallagher has announced an agreement to acquire insurance broker AssuredPartners in a $13.45 billion deal as it looks to strengthen its presence in the vast and growing mid-market segment.
4% rises for Dow in the early stages of trading. The chemicals maker plans to sell 40% of its stake in some of its US Gulf Coast infrastructure assets to a fund managed by Macquarie Asset Management for $2.4 billion.
Regarding analyst recommendations, Bank of America reiterates its ‘buy’ recommendation for Ralph Lauren and raises its price target to $267 per share, compared to the previous $255. It supposes a 18% upside potential compared to last Friday’s closing. “We expect the momentum from the last quarter to continue and for the brand to build on the strong momentum this holiday season has had around the world,” the firm notes.
Social media platform Reddit rises almost 5% following an upgrade by Morgan Stanley to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’. Analyst Brian Nowak believes Reddit has yet to reach its full potential, especially with US ad revenue growth that could be up to six times faster than its peers.
Investors will have to continue to pay close attention to Bitcoin-related securities, after the popular cryptocurrency surpassed $100,000 last week. Today bitcoin is paid at $98,172, with a drop of 1.45% in the last 24 hours, according to Coimarketcap.com. Microstrategy shares are reaping profits today, with a fall of 0.98% in the early stages of trading, while the mining company Mara Holdings falls more than 3.5%.
In raw materials markets, oil prices rise this Monday as the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has introduced greater uncertainty to an oil-rich region of the Middle East. Added to this are expectations of greater demand from China, the largest importer, given the Asian giant’s plans to carry out a “moderately lax” monetary policy next year.
West Texas futures rose 1.67% to $68.32 per barrel, while European benchmark Brent rose 1.36% to $72.09 per barrel.
The euro rises today by 0.12% against the dollar, leaving the exchange rate at $1.0578 for each single currency.