US: Nasdaq at fresh record despite higher Treasury yields

THE Nasdaq powered to a fresh record on Monday (Jul 1) behind gains by tech giants, shrugging off an increase in US Treasury yields that analysts tied to shifting election expectations.

Shares of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft all posted gains of at least two per cent, adding to a buoyant 2024 so far for tech companies.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.8 per cent to 17,879.30.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.1 per cent to 39,169.52, while the broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.3 per cent to 5,475.09.

US bond yields climbed on Monday, a dynamic that typically sees a drag on equities.

Cresset Capital’s Jack Ablin attributed the rise in yields to a bet that Donald Trump will become the next US president, leading to an extension of tax cuts and pushing back Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

“The rates are long and really going up in response to the shift in populism here and abroad, mostly here with the likelihood of Trump becoming president,” Ablin said.

“It looks like a higher for longer trade” in terms of US monetary policy, Ablin added.

A survey of manufacturers from the Institute for Supply Management’s pointed to contraction, lagging expectations.

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Among individual companies, Boeing rose 2.7 per cent after announcing a deal to acquire subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems for US$4.7 billion, a move the aviation giant says will boost efforts to improve quality control. Spirit jumped 3.4 per cent.

Large banks rose after announcing a string of dividends and share repurchases late Friday after passing annual Federal Reserve stress tests.

JPMorgan Chase gained 1.6 per cent, Goldman Sachs won 2.5 per cent and Bank of America 0.6 per cent. AFP