After Wednesday's "everything rally" spurred by the election results, investors took a less euphoric approach on Thursday ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, bringing them to a range of 4.5%-4.75%, following a previous 50-basis-point cut in September.
Yet, all eyes are on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments at 2:30 p.m. ET regarding the potential for future rate hikes and his views on inflation risks. Concerns from the market center on the possibility of a policy U-turn driven by higher fiscal deficits and price pressures from trade tariffs under a Trump administration.
Tech stocks led gains, with the Nasdaq 100 extending its record-breaking levels, surpassing 21,000 points and eyeing a third consecutive positive session. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones posted more modest gains, while the Russell 2000 paused after Wednesday's 5.8% leap.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) remained a top performer among mega-cap stocks, bolstered by expectations of Elon Musk's influence in the upcoming administration.
Treasury yields reversed a substantial portion of Wednesday's post-election increase, while the U.S. dollar dipped by 0.7%.
Metal commodities rebounded after Wednesday's sharp losses, with gold rising 1.3%, silver up 2% and copper rallying over 4%.
Oil prices strengthened by 1%, with West Texas Intermediate trading around $72 per barrel.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) rose 0.8%, reaching $76,000 to extend its record highs, while Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) outperformed with a gain of over 4%.
Thursday's Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day % chg |
| Nasdaq 100 | 21,050.78 | 1.3% |
| S&P 500 | 5,968.27 | 0.7% |
| Dow Jones | 43,748.20 | 0.0% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,389.10 | -0.2% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) rose 0.7% to $594.84.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) stalled at $437.25.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) soared 1.3% to $512.38.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) eased 0.3% to $236.67.
- The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) outperformed, rising 1.3%. The Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) lagged, down 1.2%.
Thursday's Stock Movers
Some relevant reactions to earnings reports are:
- Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), up 0.1%,
- Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), up 6.2%,
- MercadoLibre Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI), down 16%,
- APPLovin Corp. (NASDAQ:APP), up 43%,
- McKesson Corp. (NYSE:MCK), up 11%,
- Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO), up 6.3%,
- Transdigm Group Inc. (NYSE:TDG), down 4.4%
- Why Trump's Boost To Treasury Yields, Inflation Expectations May Weaken Fed's Efforts To Cut Interest Rates
This image was created using artificial intelligence.
