Stock market today: Dow ekes out another record amid winning week for stocks
09/21/2024 03:10
Rate-cut euphoria is fading amid reminders of risks to growth.
US stocks closed mixed on Friday as rate-cut euphoria faded but the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) managed to stay above the 42,000 level again to eke out another record close.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.2% after the benchmark index ended at an all-time high on Thursday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) closed down 0.4%.
Despite Friday's muted action, the major averages closed out the week with gains. Much of those increases stemmed from Thursday's market surge as investors embraced Chair Jerome Powell's message that the Federal Reserve made a big interest rate cut to support the economy, not to save it — an idea bolstered by jobless claims data.
That roaring rally sputtered on Friday amid reminders that risks to growth could still lie ahead. Wall Street is still wondering whether the Fed has fallen behind in keeping the economy on track for a "soft landing". Traders are pricing in deeper cuts this year than policymakers' "dot plot" projects, per Fed Funds futures.
Read more: What the Fed rate cut means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards
Also, those Fed-fueled high spirits are stoking the risk of a bubble, according to a top Bank of America strategist. Michael Hartnett said stocks are pricing in levels of policy easing and earnings growth right now that push investors to go chasing for gains.
With less than an hour left of trading, Intel (INTC) shares spiked after The Wall Street Journal reported semiconductor giant Qualcomm approached the chip maker in recent days about the possibility of a takeover. Qualcomm (QCOM) stock sank nearly 3%.
FedEx posted a sharp drop in profit, missing Wall Street estimates. The delivery company — a bellwether for the economy — saw its shares slump.
Elsewhere, Nike's (NKE) stock jumped after the sportswear maker named a new CEO as its sales come under pressure.
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Dow ekes out another record close amid winning week for stocks post Fed rate cut
US stocks closed the session mixed on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) eking out another record to close above 42,000 again.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) closed down 0.2%, just off its all-time closing high.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) dipped 0.4%.
The major averages closed out the week with gains. Much of that upward action happened during Thursday's massive rally.
On Friday afternoon Intel (INTC) shares surged after The Wall Street Journal reported semiconductor giant Qualcomm had approached the chip maker in recent days about the possibility of a takeover. Qualcomm (QCOM) stock sank almost 3%.
Intel shares spike on report Qualcomm approached chip maker about takeover
Former Snap design engineer on new glasses: 'Obviously bad'
Yahoo Finance's Laura Bratton reports:
One of Snap’s (SNAP) own former employees thinks its augmented reality glasses are "bad."
Sterling Crispin, an engineer who worked on designing the glasses in the past, slammed the product in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, this week.
“I worked on these for about a year at Snap, and I have a million negative things to say about the experience and the device,” Crispin wrote of Snap’s AR Spectacles, “but I think the product speaks for itself and is obviously bad.”
Read more here.
Fed dissenter Bowman preferred smaller rate cut because 'we have not yet achieved our inflation goal'
Yahoo Finance's Jennifer Schonberger reports:
The lone dissenter to the Federal Reserve's jumbo rate cut said that "a smaller first move in this process would have been a preferable action" because inflation is still not down to the central bank's 2% target.
"I see the risk that the Committee’s larger policy action could be interpreted as a premature declaration of victory on our price stability mandate," Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said in a statement released Friday.
"We have not yet achieved our inflation goal."
Read more here.
Lennar CEO believes Fed rate cuts will boost confidence in the housing market
Lennar (LEN) CEO Stuart Miller thinks that lower rates and cooling inflation will drive confidence in the sluggish housing market after the Federal Reserve’s 50 basis point rate cut.
Miller said on the company's third quarter earnings call that “lower rates and controlled inflation will build affordability, enabling more households to access either first-time homeownership or move-up purchase.”
His comments came after Lennar on Thursday reported quarterly home orders and gross margins on home sales fell short of analysts’ expectations for its fiscal third quarter ending Aug. 31. Lennar stock tumbled 4% Friday on the news. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) fell by 1%.
The combination of high mortgage rates and home prices over the past few years has dampened buyer appetite for trying to buy a home. Mortgage rates peaked around 7% earlier this year but now are much lower. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped about a tenth of a percent to 6.09% Thursday from 6.2% the week prior, according to Freddie Mac.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates this week and signaled it would lower interest rates two more times this year.
“While strong demand enabled by incentives and mortgage rate buydowns has driven the new home market over the past twp years, we fully expect an even stronger and more broad-based demand cycle as rates move lower,” the executive added.
Why big box retailers are experimenting with small-format stores
From Yahoo Finance's Edwin Roman:
Target (TGT), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), and Macy’s (M), among many others, are shifting more of their focus toward small-format stores.
Small-format stores are scaled-down versions of big box retail stores that offer consumers an efficient, convenient, and localized shopping experience. There are several reasons why retailers are pursuing smaller-format store strategies, according to R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai.
Read more here.
Dow turns positive as stocks waver near record highs
Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) climbed into green territory on Friday afternoon, hovering near record highs.
The major averages opened slightly lower Friday morning after the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the Dow notched all-time high record closes.
By almost 1 p.m. ET stocks had pared some of their morning losses. However, the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) were still in red territory.
Apple iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro review: Camera control and larger screens, Apple Intelligence not ready yet
Yahoo Finance's Dan Howley reports:
Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineups hit the market on Sept. 20, and they bring a handful of updates that, if you’re using an older iPhone, make them worth the upgrade. There’s a new camera button, improved camera performance, bigger screens on the Pro models, and better battery life all around.
I’ve spent some time using both the iPhone 16, starting at $799, and the iPhone 16 Pro, starting at $999. If you’re coming from an outdated iPhone, you’ll appreciate the new phones’ refinements. But the biggest upgrade to Apple’s newest iPhones is the company’s Apple Intelligence platform.
Read more here.
Trump media company stock falls as lock-up period expires
Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) stock dropped to new lows on Friday after the company’s six-month lock-up period expired.
As of Thursday, former President Donald Trump and other stakeholders were allowed to sell their shares of the social media company for the first time since it went public in March.
Trump, who owns more than half of the company, recently said he wouldn't sell his stock.
“I have absolutely no intention of selling,” Trump told reporters at a press conference last week. “I love it. I use it as a method of getting out my word.”
The stock has been volatile, often moving in tandem with any development related to the Republican presidential candidate. On Friday shares dropped as much as 5%.
Utilities outperform while the rest of market slumps
Utilities (XLU) rose 1.5% while the rest of the sectors were flat or dipped during Friday's market action.
Technology (XLK) stocks slipped 0.9% after fueling a massive market rally in the previous session.
On Friday the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) pulled back from record highs.
Utilities outperformed on Friday Trump keeps hammering Fed over rate cut: 'It was a political move'
Yahoo Finance's Jennifer Schonberger reports:
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is not letting up in his criticism of the Federal Reserve following a jumbo-sized half-percentage-point interest rate cut made less than two months before the November election.
"It really is a political move," the former president said Thursday during an interview with Newsmax.
Read more here.
Constellation Energy soars to all-time high on deal to sell nuclear power to Microsoft
Constellation Energy (CEG) stock soared to all-time highs on Friday after the company announced plans to restart a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island (TMI) and sell the power to Microsoft (MSFT) for its data centers.
Wall Street had been anticipating that Constellation would ink a deal this year with one of the Big tech players as they seek more energy to run their technology infrastructures amid an artificial intelligence boom.
Constellation bought the TMI Unit 1 reactor, located in Pennsylvania, in 1999. It is situated next to Unit 2, a reactor that was shut down after experiencing a partial meltdown in 1979.
"TMI Unit 1 is a fully independent facility, and its long-term operation was not impacted by the Unit 2 accident," Constellation said in its announcement on Friday.
Before Unit 1 was shut down for economic reasons in 2019, the plant had a generating capacity of 837 megawatts, which is enough to power more than 800,000 average homes, the company said.
Constellation Energy was up as much as 15% on Friday. The stock is up more than 100% year to-date.
Nike shares jump 7% on CEO replacement
Nike (NKE) shares jumped on Friday after the sneaker and sports apparel giant announced CEO John Donahoe plans to retire. He will be replaced by Elliott Hill, the company’s former president for consumer and marketplace, effective Oct. 14.
Wall Street analysts cheered the return of Hill, who left Nike in 2020. Shares of the company rose more than 7% in early trading.
As Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma reports, the leadership change comes as Nike's board — which includes founder Phil Knight, former longtime CEO Mark Parker, and Apple CEO Tim Cook — sees it fit to focus on improved product and reestablishing relationships cast aside by Donahoe, such as that with Foot Locker (FL).
Read more here.
Stocks retreat from record highs as Fed rate-cut rally fades
Stocks fell slightly in early trading Friday, backing away from record highs on the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI).
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also slipped after a monster rally in the prior session on the heels of a jumbo rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
The market euphoria fizzled on Friday after delivery giant FedEx (FDX), a bellwether for the US economy, reported disappointing quarterly results on Thursday evening.
FedEx stock tumbled in early trading.
