Stocks finished higher Friday, with the Dow and the S&P posting their best week of the year, as investors digested the impact of a stunning election win for former President Donald Trump and a Federal Reserve rate cut that could be the last of 2024.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 259.65, or 0.59%, to end at 43,988.99 as the blue chip average traded above 44,000 for first time ever during the session.
The S&P 500 gained 0.38% to end at a record high of 5,995.54, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up 0.09% to finish the day at 19,286.78.
All three averages finished the week at record closing levels.
Updated at 1:19 PM EDT
Pennsylvania 6,000!
The S&P 500 topped the 6,000 point mark for the first time on record Frida, rising to 6,000.02 points in mid-day trading to extend the benchmark's 2024 gain to around 24.3%.
S&P 500 has officially crossed 6,000.
— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) November 8, 2024
Doomers are down bad.
Get the champagne ready. pic.twitter.com/AspytYbTDs
Updated at 11:41 AM EDT
The Nvidia affect
Nvidia is leading declines for megacap tech stocks heading into the mid-day session, with the world's most-valuable company falling 1% and paring gains from a run of five consecutive session highs.
Nvidia also made its debut on the Dow Jones Industrial Average Friday, replacing struggling chipmaker Intel (INTC) after its 25-year stretch in the famous benchmark.
The Dow was last marked 288 points higher on the session, after hitting a record high of 44,052.89 points earlier in the session, with the Nasdaq last seen 7 points lower from last night's record close.
"Nvidia can only ship into China about what Huawei can do themselves. So if you put additional restrictions on what Nvidia can ship into China, that's just gonna move a lot of business into Huawei," says $NVDA analyst Chris Caso on potential impact of Trump's proposed tariffs: pic.twitter.com/cdvDXdOOkw
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) November 8, 2024
Updated at 10:38 AM EDT
Tesla Trillion
Tesla shares extended their recent run in early Friday trading and topped $1 trillion threshold, in terms of market value, for the first time in more than two years.
"In our view, Tesla and CEO Elon Musk are perhaps the biggest winners from the election result, and we believe Trump's victory will help expedite regulatory approval of the company's autonomous driving technology," said CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson in a recent client note.
"Depending on the outcome of the House, we also see risks to current electric vehicle tax credits from changes to existing tax legislation, which we think will widen Tesla's competitive moat by making competing EV models even more uneconomic, as we believe Tesla is the only profitable manufacturer of EVs," he added.
Tesla, which posted better-than-expected third quarter earnings last month, was last marked 7.2% higher on the session and changing hands at $318.30 each.
Related: Tesla stock soars as markets reprice key 'Trump Trade' bet
Updated at 10:25 AM EDT
Rosier outlook
The University of Michigan's benchmark survey of consumer sentiment ticked higher in November, reaching an 18-month peak of 73, with gains for the outlook on business conditions and a modest pullback in inflation expectations.
UMich consumer sentiment was stronger than expected and increased from last month.
— CMG Venture Group (@CmgVenture) November 8, 2024
🔹 Consumer Sentiment: 73.0 vs. 71.0 est. (70.5 prior)
🔸 Current Conditions: 64.4 vs. 65.5 est. (64.9 prior)
🔸 Expectations: 78.5 vs. 75.0 est. (74.1 prior) pic.twitter.com/Q7uiGKN1k0
Updated at 9:36 AM EDT
Solid open
The S&P 500 was marked 10 points, or 0.16% higher in the opening minutes of trading, with the Nasdaq rising 5 points, or 0.03%.
The Dow gained 69 points to hit a fresh record high of 43,897.84 points while the mid-cap Russell 2000 slipped 2 points, or 0.11%.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Nov. 08, 2024)$SPY +0.16%🟩$QQQ +0.03%🟩$DJI +0.27%🟩$IWM -0.24%🟥 pic.twitter.com/6McAxZoBxU
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) November 8, 2024
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended firmly higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 testing the 6,000-point mark by the close of trading and extending its five-day gain to around 4.7%. The market move was powered in part by the so-called Trump Trade euphoria in domestic markets and the Fed's decision to lower its benchmark lending rate for a second consecutive meeting.
The Nikkei 225 ended 1.5% higher thanks in part to the ongoing rally in megacap tech stocks, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back a point from its previous record close.
Markets are still working through the implications of a new Trump administration, particularly where it comes to trade policy, government borrowing and deregulation, all of which will have significant impacts on asset prices, and broader economic growth, over the coming year.
With that uncertainty hanging over Fed policy, Chairman Jerome attempted to delicately manage expectations of a December rate cut. Powell insisted that the election will have "no effects on our policy decisions" over the near term, but he nonetheless removed a phrase from the central bank's statement about confidence in slowing inflation.
Traders still put the odds of a December reduction at 71%, according to CME Group's FedWatch, but new growth and inflation forecasts from the Fed's final meeting of the year could alter the path for rates into 2025.
"We think [Thursday's] cut was quite appropriate, as would be another one in December, but clearly the crystal ball on interest rates has become cloudier recently," said Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment office for global fixed income. "Will the Fed continue [to] cut alongside its previously outlined [Summary of Economic Projections]? It is clearly a question today."
"Yet, we do think that assuming aggressive rate cuts from here into 2025 would be overzealous," he added.
Bond markets mellowed somewhat in the wake of Powell's statement, with benchmark 10-year Treasury yields retracing from their early-week highs to around 4.297% in overnight trading and the MOVE index of market volatility now down 23% over the past five days.
Related: Goldman Sachs analyst hints at big risk to post-Trump election rally
That's setting up Wall Street for a benign Friday open, with futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggesting a 10 point opening bell decline and the Dow Jones Industrial Average for a modest 35 point pullback.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 82 points lower, with Nvidia (NVDA) , Tesla (TSLA) and Intel (INTC) all active in premarket trading.
In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 was marked 0.73% lower following a weaker-than-expected stimulus package from China and the ongoing drama in Germany's Bundestag that could lead to fresh national elections early next year.
Britain's FTSE 100, meanwhile, fell 0.85% following on from yesterday's Bank of England rate cut, which warned of dislocation for global trade markets as well as elevated inflation, after this week's U.S. elections.
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Overnight in Asia, China's National People's Congress ended its four-day meeting with the unveiling of a plan to refinance around $1.4 trillion in local government debt. The move disappointed markets looking for deeper stimulus in the world's second-largest economy.
China stocks fell firmly across the board, with the benchmark CSI 300 down 1% on the session, while the regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark slipped 0.01% into the close of trading.
Japan's Nikkei 225, meanwhile, fell 0.69% on the session, but held to a 3.8% gain for the week .
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
