Big tech shares power Nasdaq to record high close. Bitcoin also climbs before Fed meeting

12/17/2024 06:43
Big tech shares power Nasdaq to record high close. Bitcoin also climbs before Fed meeting

Big tech shares like Apple, Alphabet, Tesla and Broadcom all hit record highs, lifting the Nasdaq to one, too. Dow slips again as Fed meets this week.

Another day, another rally by mega tech stocks.

Shares of iPhone maker Apple, Google-parent Alphabet, electric car maker Tesla and AI-chipmaker Broadcom all rallied to new all-time highs, which helped power the tech-heavy Nasdaq to its own record peak. The Nasdaq closed up 1.24%, or 247.17 points, at a record 20,173.89.

The broad S&P 500 index ended up 0.38%, or 22.99 points, at 6,074.08 and the blue-chip Dow slipped for an eight consecutive session for its longest streak of declines since 2018. It closed down 0.25%, or 110.58 points, at 43,717.48.

All eyes are on the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, which ends on Wednesday afternoon. Although the Fed's expected to trim its short-term, benchmark fed funds rate again by a quarter percentage point, many economists expect the central bank to signal a slower pace of rate cuts next year and revise its economic outlook.

"This could be the last cut for a while," said Jacob Channel, senior economist at comparison site LendingTree. "Because the upcoming Trump Administration’s policies might cause a resurgence in inflation or otherwise throw the economy off balance, the Fed might choose to take a wait-and-see approach and hold rates steady at their January meeting."

The day's winners included:

Broadcom (AVGO): The chip software company extended its rally off its better-than-expected earnings report late Thursday and strong outlook. Shares are now up more than 120% for the year.

Bitcoin: The cryptocurrency surged to an all-time high above $107,000 after MicroStrategy said it bought an additional 15,350 bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to 439,000, worth about $46 billion.

Companies with the largest declines included:

Super Micro Computer (SMCI): The AI server company said its auditor resigned this fall and its shares will be axed from the Nasdaq-100.

Nvidia (NVDA): The AI chip company's shares slipped, putting it officially into correction territory, traders said. Shares are down more than 10% from its closing high of $148.88 reached last month. Analysts said money's moving into other AI-related companies after Nvidia's 166% run up this year.

FILE PHOTO: The Wall Street bull is seen in the financial district in New York, U.S., March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: The Wall Street bull is seen in the financial district in New York, U.S., March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Oil fell 1% to $70.58 per barrel after China reported soft retail sales data.

The 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 4.397% ahead of an expected Fed rate cut.

Medora Lee is a money, markets and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nasdaq and bitcoin climb to record highs but Dow keeps losing ground

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