S&P 500 flirts with 6,000 mark as Wall Street heads for best week in a year

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) briefly touched 6,000 for the first time ever on Friday as stocks head towards their best week in a year.

The broad market index jumped more than 0.4% to new record highs after a monster rally this week on the heels of Donald Trump’s White House win. The move higher also follows the Federal Reserve’s latest decision to cut rates by 25 basis points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) also climbed to new highs on Friday, surpassing the 44,000 level for the first time ever.

Chip stocks initially soared on former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump’s win and the Fed’s latest rate cut. But they moved into the red Friday as analysts begin to contemplate uncertainty surrounding Trump’s approach to the chip sector as he returns to the White House in January.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index (^SOX) fell more than 1%, dragging the Nasdaq (^IXIC).

Nvidia (NVDA) dropped 1.1%, Qualcomm (QCOM) fell 1.4%, Arm (ARM) sank 3.5%, while AMD (AMD), Broadcom (AVGO) and Micron (MU) fell less than 1%.

“Trump’s victory brings further uncertainty to the semiconductor sector in terms of its impact on additional China restrictions, higher tariffs, and CHIPS Act funding. The industry is broadly braced for another round of restrictions on the supply of chips and equipment to China,” Jefferies (JEF) analysts wrote Friday.

“Trump’s win was clearly the key event this week, and many semiconductor stocks, esp semicaps, are likely to trade sideways till there is clarity on further restrictions, tariffs, and Chips Act funding,” Jefferies said.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) hovered near $76,000 on Friday as the risk-on rally post Donald Trump’s White House win was on pace to end the week on a high note.

The cryptocurrency spiked to new highs on Wednesday following the presidential election results. Trump was a supporter of bitcoin during his campaign, advocating for the creation of a national crypto stockpile, if elected to the White House.

Chinese stocks fell on Friday, dragging on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), which hovered near the flatline.

Disappointment over China’s new fiscal stimulus sent shares of Chinese tech stocks lower. The recently announced $1.4 trillion planto refinance local government debt left investors unconvinced of its potential to spur the economy.

E-commerce and cloud giant Alibaba (BABA) fell nearly 6% while PDD Holdings (PDD) also dropped 6%. Earlier this week the sector fell over concerns of potential tariffs after Donald Trump won the presidential election.

Airbnb (ABNB) shares fell nearly 10% Friday after posting mixed third quarter results. Quarterly earnings per share of $2.13 missed Wall Street’s forecast of $2.15, and revenue of $3.73 billion came in ahead of the $3.72 billion expected, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates.

Bank of America (BAC) analyst Justin Post maintained his Neutral rating on the stock, raising his near-term estimates for bookings over the next year but lowering his 2025 earnings growth outlook.

“While Airbnb is expanding its geographic reach, and has a number of new growth initiatives to help to capitalize on its large bookings ecosystem, core nights growth is in line with peers and the margin growth seems less likely in 2025,” Post said. He expects shares to rise to $154 over the next 12 months. The stock stood at roughly $133 Friday morning.

JPMorgan (JPM) analyst Doug Anmuth also has a Neutral rating on the stock and sees shares hitting $142 over the next year.

Anmuth said in a note to investors Friday morning: “Overall, we are encouraged by improving demand trends & ABNB’s early progress toward expanding beyond the core, but expect growth sustainability to remain the biggest pushback.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) soared to new intraday highs on Friday, crossing the 44,000 level.

The blue-chip index was up nearly 0.7%, or about 290 points.

Ironically, AI chip heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA), which joined the Dow on Friday, was lower by about 1% during the session.

The major average is up about 28% year to date.

Tesla (TSLA) hit $1 trillion in market cap on Friday as shares of the electric vehicle giant soared as much as 7%. The stock has been on fire this week following Donald Trump’s White House victory.

CEO Elon Musk bet big on Trump, with more than $130 million in political support. The question for investors is whether the financial commitments will benefit Tesla.

On Friday, Tesla shares were trading at their highest level since March 22.

Trump Media & Technology Group stock (DJT) leaped 10% and was briefly halted for volatility after Donald Trump said he would not sell his shares in the company, the home of Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump, who made the announcement on his Truth Social account, maintains a roughly 60% interest in DJT. At current levels of around $30 a share, Trump Media boasts a market cap of about $6.5 billion, giving the president-elect a stake worth around $3.9 billion.

Shares in the company have been on a wild ride over the past week, with the up-and-down moves mostly tied to Trump’s chances of reclaiming the White House.

On Thursday, the stock fell nearly 23% to reverse the gains it enjoyed the day prior as Trump clinched victory over Kamala Harris in the presidential election. But with Friday’s moves to the upside, the stock is down just 2% over the past five days, although shares have rallied by more than 60% in the past month.

Read more here.

Americans are feeling increasingly better about the short-term path for inflation.

The latest consumer sentiment survey from the University of Michigan revealed consumers expect inflation to sit at 2.6% in a year, a decrease from last month’s expectation of 2.7%. November’s reading is the lowest since December 2020 and is within the 2.3% to 3% range seen in the two years before the pandemic.

Expectations for long-run inflation did tick higher, though, rising to 3.1% from 3% the month prior.

The overall consumer sentiment index popped to a reading of 73, up from 71 in October. Interviews for the survey concluded on Monday and therefore don’t capture any reactions to election results.

US stocks flirted with their record highs on Friday following the latest rate cut announced by the Federal Reserve.

Market euphoria following a Trump White House victory seemed to drift as the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was little changed. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.3%

On Thursday the Federal Reserve announced a 25 basis point cut, a move widely anticipated by the markets.

And on Friday AI chip heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA) replaced semiconductor giant Intel (INTC) as one of the Dow’s 30 components.

The new addition should give the blue-chip index an added boost. Intel shares are down roughly 45% year to date while Nvidia is up more than 200%.

Paint maker Sherwin-Williams (SHW) also replaced Dow Inc. (DOW) as a component of the major average.

Here’s a look at the key market themes as you wake up today: China’s stimulus falls short, Paramount misses earnings despite streaming growth, and Nvidia hits a $3.6 trillion market cap. Meanwhile, investors have pulled back on Trump trades, uncertain about his tariff plans.

Economic data: University of Michigan consumer sentiment, (November preliminary)

Earnings: Canopy Growth (CGC), Icahn Enterprises (IEP), Sony (SONY), Paramount Global (PARA)

Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:

Nvidia sets record with $3.6T market value after Trump win

Paramount revenue falls short as streaming boosts profit

Investors dial back ‘Trump trades’ as policy questions persist

Trump win drives $20B surge into US stocks

China green-lights $1.4T debt plan to boost economy

TSMC to halt advanced AI chip production for China, FT reports

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