Stocks were moving higher in early trading Friday after two days of post-election gains that have pushed major indexes to a series of record highs.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, about half an hour after the opening bell, both hitting new highs, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.1%. The major indexes hit all-time highs on Thursday on continued investor optimism about Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the presidential election and as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates.
Mega-cap tech stocks, which have helped underpin the recent rally, were mixed in early trading Friday. Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) were moving higher, while AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (META) were down slightly.
Nvidia became a member of the Dow on Friday, replacing beleaguered chipmaker Intel (INTC), which was down slightly this morning. Paint maker Sherwin-Williams (SHW) is also joining the blue-chip index, supplanting chemical giant Dow (DOW).
Several companies were making big moves this morning after reporting quarterly results. Arista Networks (ANET), Airbnb (ABNB), Pinterest (PINS) and Sweetgreen (SG) were among the big post-earnings decliners, while Toast (TOST) and Doximity (DOCS) soared.
Shares of Chinese companies traded in the U.S. were losing ground after new stimulus measures announced by authorities in Beijing fell short of market expectations. The iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) was down nearly 5%, as shares of PDD Holdings (PDD), the parent of online marketplace Temu, online retailer JD.com (JD), conglomerate Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) and Li Auto (LI) all slid.
Gold futures, which have lost ground following the election as the U.S. dollar has strengthened, were down slightly this morning at around $2,700 an ounce.
Bitcoin, which has been hitting record highs in recent days amid optimism that a Trump presidency will benefit the asset class, was at $75,800 recently, down from from near $77,000 yesterday.
The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which fell sharply on Thursday, was down again this morning at around 4.30%, versus 4.34% at the close yesterday. The yield had been rising steadily in recent weeks as market participants reassessed their expectations for how aggressive the Fed would be in cutting interest rates in the months ahead.
Nvidia Replaces Intel in the Dow Friday
22 minutes ago
Nvidia (NVDA) joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average Friday, replacing storied chipmaker Intel (INTC) as the artificial intelligence (AI) darling cements its position as the world’s most valuable company.
The change took effect prior to the start of trading, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, which manages the blue-chip index, in an announcement at the start of the month.
Nvidia shares have risen nearly three-fold since the start of the year, driven by insatiable demand for the company’s family of AI chips— including its next generation Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs). The AI boom has helped the chip designer to leapfrog Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL) to become the most valuable publicly listed company in the world.
In contrast, Intel shares are down almost 50% this year, as it struggles with a costly turnaround under CEO Pat Gelsinger.
TradingView
Paint maker Sherwin-Williams (SHW) also became a member of the blue-chip index Friday, supplanting chemical giant Dow (DOW).
Bitcoin Near Record Highs—Key Levels to Watch
1 hr 22 min ago
Bitcoin (BTCUSD) was down slightly Friday after surging to a record high near $77,000 yesterday amid optimism about how the cryptocurrency might benefit from a Donald Trump’s presidency.
Investors view a future Trump Administration as a positive development for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency more broadly, specifically in relation to regulation and the potential for the creation of a federal strategic bitcoin reserve, two areas the president-elect addressed when delivering a speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July.
The Trump-fueled momentum comes at a welcome time for the legacy cryptocurrency, which has traded mostly sideways over the past seven months as exuberance subsided following the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January and the asset’s halving event in April. Since the start of the year, Bitcoin has gained around 80%, adding the lion’s share of those gains in the first quarter.
Bitcoin has broken out above the upper trendline of a cup and handle pattern, potentially marking the start of a near-term move higher.
A measured move, which calculates the depth of the “cup” portion of the pattern and adds that amount to the formation’s top trendline, projects a price target of $126,000. Investors should watch key support levels on Bitcoin’s chart around $70,000 and $53,000.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Major Index Stock Futures Mixed
1 hr 58 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%.
TradingView
S&P 500 futures were down fractionally.
TradingView
Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.2%.
TradingView
