Investing.com — The S&P 500 closed higher Monday, as tech made a strong start to a holiday-shortened week, driven by a rally in semiconductor stocks.
At 4:00 ET (21:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.7%, and the NASDAQ Composite gained 1%.
The New York Stock Exchange is set to close early Tuesday for Christmas Eve, and the market is shut on Christmas Day.
Tech rides rally in chips higher
Tech led the broader higher, underpinned by rally in chips with Broadcom, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Qualcomm.
Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) added 5% to its recent more than 40% surge seen so far this month as investors continue to snap up shares of the chipmaker following its bullish quarterly results and guidance released earlier this month.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) stock rose more than 3% after a jury found its central processors are properly licensed under an agreement with UK-based Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM), which fell over 3%.
Fed interest rate moves key
PCE price index data—a key inflation gauge favored by the Federal Reserve—rose 0.1% in November, a slower pace from October’s 0.2% increase. This brought the annual PCE inflation rate to 2.4%, slightly below estimates of 2.5%.
Although the recent data indicated some cooling in inflation, it still remained above the Fed’s 2% annual target, indicating that overall inflation still remained sticky.
The Fed signaled a cautious approach to monetary policy adjustments, emphasizing the need for continued progress on inflation before considering further rate cuts.
Comments from Fed officials on Friday showed that some policymakers were starting to factor in fiscal policy uncertainty, such as tariffs, in their outlooks.
Fed officials reiterated that they were still uncertain about how the new Donald Trump administration policies would affect the interest rate outlook, with some saying it was the very same uncertainty that led them to forecast fewer cuts in 2025.
The Fed cut rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday but forecast just two rate cuts in 2025, compared with a prior forecast of four cuts.
Rumble surges; Crypto stocks follow bitcoin lower
Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM) stock jumped 81% after the video-sharing platform said it has received a strategic investment of $775 million from cryptocurrency firm Tether.
Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) stock gained nearly 4% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drugmaker’s weight-loss treatment, Zepbound, for obstructive sleep apnea on Friday.
Crypto-related stocks including MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR), Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN), and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) ended lower following a drop in bitcoin. MicroStrategy was also came under added pressure after announcing a 1.3-million-stock sale to buy 5,262 bitcions.
The weakness bitcoin could be shortlived, Citi said in a note, expecting a positive backdrop in Q1.
“2024 was a strong year for crypto, and our global macro strategists expect a supportive backdrop for risky assets to continue into Q1, it added.
(Peter Nurse, Ayushman Ojha contributed to his article.)
