Wall Street closed mixed following the release of November inflation data. Market participants were more hopeful of another reduction in market interest rate in December. Nasdaq Composite ended at record high and S&P 500 also advanced as most of the “magnificent 7” stocks surged. However, the Dow finished in negative territory.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.2% or 99.27 points after a choppy session to close at 44,148.56. At intraday high, the blue-chip index was up more than 128 points. Notably, 16 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory while 13 in positive zone and one remained unchanged. 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 20,034.90, surging 1.8% or 347.65 points due to excellent performance by technology behemoths. The tech-laden index closed above a crucial technical barrier of 20,000 for the first-time in its history. In intraday, the index recorded an all-time high of 20,055.93. 

The S&P 500 gained 0.8% to finish at 6,084.19. Six out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in negative territory while five in positive zone. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector (XLY) advanced 1.5%, 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively. On the other hand, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) tumbled 1.4%. 

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 4.2%% to 13.58. A total of 14.25 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 14.35 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.27-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.13-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues. 

In Line Inflation Data for November

The Department of Labor reported that the consumer price index (CPI) – popularly known as the household inflation gauge – rose 0.3% in November compared with 0.2% in October. The consensus estimate was 0.3%. Year over year, CPI increased 2.7% in November compared with 2.6% in the previous month.

Core CPI (excluding volatile food and energy items) also rose 0.3% in November, in line with the previous month and the consensus estimate. Year over year, core CPI increased 3.3% in the last month, in line with October.

Following the release of the November CPI/core CPI data, market participants are more hopeful of another round of reduction in the benchmark lending rate in December. Market participants believe that gradually reducing inflation rate and solid fundamentals of the U.S. economy will pave the way for a soft landing. The Fed reduced the market interest rate by 75 basis points in September and November to a range of 4.5-4.75%. 

The CME FedWatch interest rate derivative tool currently shows a 98.4% probability that central bank will cut the Fed fund rate by another 25 basis points in December. This probability was around 66% at the beginning of last week. If this materializes, total reduction in the Fed fund rate will be 1% in 2024. 

Big Techs Surge

Big techs flourished as market participants seem almost certain of another round of rate cut this month. Consequently, six out of the “magnificent 7” members surged. Tesla Inc. TSLA jumped 5.9% after posting an all-time high of $424.88. The stock is up more than 69% since the Presidential election date of Nov. 5. Tesla currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Alphabet Inc. GOOGL climbed 5.5% after rallying 6% on Tuesday following the following the release of its quantum computing chip called “willow”. The social media giant Meta Platforms Inc. META also advanced 2.2%.

Economic Data

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) decreased by 1.4 million barrels for the week ended Dec 6.

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