A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) next to a U.S. flag, after Republican Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, in New York City, U.S., November 6, 2024.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
My top 10 things to watch Thursday, Dec. 12
1. The Nasdaq was looking modestly lower Thursday after closing above 20,000 for the first time ever in the prior session. The tech-heavy index jumped nearly 1.8% on Wednesday, boosted by record closes for Tesla as well as Club names Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Alphabet. The S&P 500 closed nearly 1% higher. The Dow, however, dropped for the fifth straight session.
2. A hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation report kept a lid on stocks. The producer price index for November rose 0.4% month over month and 3% on a 12-month basis, versus the Dow Jones estimates of 0.2% and 2.6%, respectively. Traders were still overwhelmingly betting on a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s policy meeting next week.
3. ServiceTitan was set to debut Thursday on the Nasdaq. The company provides cloud software to salt of the Earth contractors, tradespeople like plumbers and painters. ServiceTitan’s initial public offering was priced above the expected range at $71 per share.
