Stock Market Today: Tech Rallies, Nasdaq Just Shy of New Highs
Investors brushed past inflation and interest-rate fears Thursday to drive technology and other growth shares higher.
The Nasdaq Composite pressed higher Thursday, to within just a few points of a fresh closing record, flipping the script on how the technology-heavy index has acted for much of 2021.
The Federal Reserve yesterday revealed higher expectations for inflation and signaled that rising interest rates might be here sooner than previously expected. Both of these factors were blamed for the Nasdaq's underperformance earlier this year, but today, the composite greatly outperformed its blue-chip index peers.
Robust gains in tech and tech-esque stocks such as Nvidia (NVDA, +4.8%), Amazon.com (AMZN, +2.2%) and Tesla (TSLA, +1.9%) powered a 0.9% advance in the Nasdaq to 14,161, just shy of its previous high of 14,174.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
"Based on our ongoing correlation studies between [interest] rates and the equity markets/sectors, we believe that tech may continue to lead on a relative basis over the short-run," says Dan Wantrobski, technical strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. "It is not yet confirmed whether this tech outperformance will itself prove 'transitory,' or if a longer-term theme is emerging here."
The S&P 500 (off marginally to 4,221) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.6% to 33,823) were more subdued, hobbled in part by a surprise increase in weekly unemployment filings; last week's 412,000 claims were the most filed since mid-May.
Also Thursday, Congress passed legislation making Juneteenth, or June 19, the 12th federal holiday, and President Joe Biden signed it into law. It will go into effect immediately, with federal employees getting a paid day off Friday, June 18 (Juneteenth falls on Saturday this year). The stock and bond markets will remain open tomorrow, though they're widely expected to observe the holiday in the future.
Other action in the stock market today:
- The small-cap Russell 2000 declined for the fourth consecutive session, slumping 1.2% to 2,287.
- Tenet Healthcare (THC, +2.8%) popped today on some M&A activity. The Texas-based healthcare services provider said it is selling five hospitals and related physician operations in Florida's Miami-Dade and Southern Broward counties to privately owned Steward Health Care for $1.1 billion.
- Lennar (LEN, +3.6%) was another notable mover today. The housing stock got a lift after the company reported better-than-expected earnings and revenues in its fiscal second quarter, while homebuilding gross margin also came in above analysts' consensus estimate.
- U.S. crude oil futures fell 1.5% to end at $71.04 per barrel after the Fed's relatively hawkish tone on Wednesday (projecting higher interest rates in 2023) boosted the U.S. dollar.
- A rising greenback weighed on gold futures, too, with the malleable metal sliding 4.7% to settle at $1,774.80 an ounce.
- The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) settled 2.2% lower to 17.75.
- Bitcoin prices declined 2.4% to $37,765.72. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.)
Billionaires Are Unloading These 25 Stocks
We keep tabs on Wall Street's top minds and what opportunities they're eyeing throughout the year. That's because you can gain an edge by tapping into the deep knowledge of analysts who closely monitor the stocks in their coverage universe, and by tracking the market moves of large institutional managers and stock pickers (think Warren Buffett) that have far greater research resources than your average investor.
However, while we mostly focus on the purchasing records of Wall Street's "smart money" – such as these 30 stock picks of the billionaire set – it also pays to examine what they're selling.
Today, we've put the spotlight on 25 stocks that billionaires have sold in the most recent quarter.
But we suggest you read closely.
Yes, in some cases, billionaires and other institutional managers have unloaded shares because they've lost faith in the underlying companies … but in others, a turn toward the exits might just be prudent profit-taking after a red-hot run.
Kyle Woodley is the Editor-in-Chief of WealthUp, a site dedicated to improving the personal finances and financial literacy of people of all ages. He also writes the weekly The Weekend Tea newsletter, which covers both news and analysis about spending, saving, investing, the economy and more.
Kyle was previously the Senior Investing Editor for Kiplinger.com, and the Managing Editor for InvestorPlace.com before that. His work has appeared in several outlets, including Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, Barchart, The Globe & Mail and the Nasdaq. He also has appeared as a guest on Fox Business Network and Money Radio, among other shows and podcasts, and he has been quoted in several outlets, including MarketWatch, Vice and Univision. He is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a BA in journalism.
You can check out his thoughts on the markets (and more) at @KyleWoodley.
-
Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Soars on Strength in Magnificent 7 Stocks
The main indexes started the week strong after several mega-cap stocks rallied.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Target Limits Self-Checkout To 10 Items
Target launches new self-checkout lanes on heels of a new paid membership plan and expanded brand offerings.
By Jamie Feldman Published
-
Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Soars on Strength in Magnificent 7 Stocks
The main indexes started the week strong after several mega-cap stocks rallied.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Close Lower as Tech Shares Slump
Weakness in several Magnificent 7 stocks created headwinds for the main indexes Friday.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Swing Lower as Chipmakers Slump
The main indexes erased an early lead Thursday as several semiconductor stocks sold off.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks End Mixed Ahead of Retail Sales, PPI
Stocks took a breather Wednesday as investors looked ahead to tomorrow's inflation data.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Nabs New Record Close After February CPI
Strong gains for Oracle and Nvidia helped the main indexes brush off hotter-than-anticipated inflation data.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Struggle Ahead of February CPI Report
The main indexes had trouble getting off the ground Monday as Wall Street waits for tomorrow's inflation update.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Where Can the Magnificent Seven Stocks Go in 2024?
The Magnificent Seven have been driving stock returns. Here, we take a close look at the mega-cap hotshots to see what's next.
By Nellie S. Huang Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Go Into Reverse as Nvidia Slumps
The main indexes were initially higher after the release of the February jobs report, but ended well off their session highs.
By Karee Venema Published