US: S&P 500, Nasdaq hit new records as markets eye Fed rate cut
THE S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at fresh records with narrow gains on Tuesday as markets reacted to mixed labor market data that kept alive the possibility of another Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
Major indices have been notching regular records following the US presidential election, spawning talk that markets are now overvalued.
“There’s not a whole lot of natural drivers of new money coming into the market at this point,” said Kim Forrest of Bokeh Capital Partners, adding that markets appear “biased to the upside” in light of a benign 2025 financial outlook.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.2 per cent at 44,705.53.
But the broad-based S&P 500 added 0.1 per cent at 6,049.88, a third straight record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.4 per cent to 19,480.91, scoring its second straight record.
A closely-watched labour market report showed an increase in job openings in October, but also a decline in new job postings during the month, a less upbeat sign.
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Samuel Tombs, chief US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the data overall provides “good grounds” for the Fed to lower interest rates again this month.
Futures markets lifted the odds of another rate cut by the US central bank on Dec 17.
Among individual companies, AT&T jumped 4.6 per cent as it announced US$40 billion in shareholder give-backs at an investor day where it projected revenue and operating earnings growth over the next three years.
United States Steel sank 8.0 per cent after President-elect Donald Trump reiterated a pledge to block a takeover of the company by Japan’s Nippon Steel.
Tesla dropped 1.6 per cent after a US judge upheld her decision to reject Elon Musk’s massive US$55.8 billion compensation package, concluding the electric car company’s shareholder vote to reinstate the plan did not override her initial ruling. AFP
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