Stocks in the United States rose today, with the Dow Jones index hitting a new record high. Chip manufacturers contributed to the growth thanks to renewed optimism surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), as did the pharmaceutical company Moderna.
US indices ended the day with gains
The Dow Jones index rose 484.9 points, or 0.99 percent, to 49,462.08 points. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 42.77 points, or 0.62 percent, to 6,944.82 points. The Nasdaq technology market index rose 151.35 points, or 0.65 percent, to 23,547.17 points.
Shares of Moderna rose after BofA Global Research raised its target price for the company’s shares. Shares of memory and storage technology companies also rose after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang provided details about upcoming AI processors that include a new layer of storage technology. SanDisk, Western Digital, Seagate Technology, and Micron Technology posted strong gains. However, oil company shares weakened due to falling oil prices.
Investors watch Fed data and comments
Investors are also preparing for economic data as the effects of the 43-day federal government shutdown slowly fade. Among other things, the employment report will be released on Friday. Weaker data could strengthen the case for the US central bank to cut interest rates, Reuters wrote.
Markets also analyzed comments from US central bank (Fed) officials. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin, who does not have a vote on the monetary policy committee this year, emphasized the need for “fine-tuning” policy, while Fed Governor Stephen Miran warned that aggressive rate cuts will be necessary this year to keep the economy growing. However, Miran’s term ends this month. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari added that there is a risk that the unemployment rate could rise unexpectedly, complicating rate decisions. Markets now give an 80 percent chance that the Fed will not change interest rates at its next meeting in late January.
The US dollar strengthened against a basket of currencies today. The US currency is supported by speculation about interest rate developments in the US. However, currency movements were muted as investors focused on commodities and stocks. The dollar index, which tracks the dollar’s performance against a basket of six major world currencies, rose 0.3 percent to 98.61 points. The euro weakened 0.3 percent against the dollar to USD 1.1686. The dollar rose 0.1 percent against the yen to JPY 156.66. The euro fell 0.2 percent against the yen to JPY 183.06.
Source: ÄŒTK
