Stock Market Today: Stocks Slump Ahead of Tech Earnings, Fed Meeting
A busy week on Wall Street kicked off with losses for the major benchmarks.
Stocks closed lower Monday as caution set in ahead of a busy week on Wall Street.
In addition to a jam-packed earnings calendar that features trillion-dollar tech titans Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOGL), there's a full economic docket too – one that includes a Fed meeting and the monthly jobs report.
"This week's big tech earnings will enable investors to learn whether or not the economy is slowing and investors will see which companies are strong enough to weather the potential for tough times, and which companies will struggle," says David Trainer, CEO of investment research firm New Constructs. "We expect the stock market to be more discerning as it awards the stronger companies with more value, while sending the stocks of weaker companies lower, a dynamic that sounds simple, but didn't occur in 2020 and 2021."
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free 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.
Ahead of this busy batch of tech earnings, the Nasdaq Composite underperformed today, shedding 2.0% to 11,393. The S&P 500 gave back 1.3% to 4,017, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 33,717.
Investors are also keeping a close eye on this week's gathering of Federal Reserve officials. For those who have been wondering, "when is the next Fed meeting," the answer to that question is tomorrow, though the policy announcement is not due until Wednesday afternoon.
Wall Street expects the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to hike its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points (0.25%). The tone of this meeting will likely be similar to the December one, says Jonathan Pingle, economist at UBS Global Research: "A smaller rate hike as the terminal rate nears, a Fed more confident inflation is peaking, but also an FOMC that thinks it is too soon to signal a stop."
Meanwhile, Pingle anticipates "a very solid gain" in the January jobs report, which will be released Friday morning. And this, he adds, "should keep more rate hikes in play."
The Best AI Stocks to Buy
Today's price action from tech stocks marks a change of pace to what has so far been a hot stretch for the beaten-down sector. "The script has been flipped in 2023," say Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist, and Jeffrey Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial. "Last year's underperformers have turned into outperformers this year, driving the S&P 500 Index up [roughly] 5% this month." And the Nasdaq is up nearly 9% after plunging more than 33% in 2022.
Turnquist and Buchbinder add that several seasonality indicators – including the Santa Claus rally and the fact that we're in the third year of a presidential cycle, which tends to be bullish for stocks – "suggest the path of least resistance for the broader market is likely higher for the year." The longer-term selloff in tech certainly creates opportunities for investors to scoop up some of the best growth stocks at a bargain. Artificial intelligence (AI) companies, in particular, are poised for impressive growth over the next decade – and that should mean great things for Wall Street's best AI stocks.
-
Your Guide to Buying Art OnlineFrom virtual galleries to social media platforms, the internet offers plenty of places to shop for paintings, sculptures and other artwork without breaking the bank.
-
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra for $4.99 a Month: A Closer Look at Verizon’s DealVerizon’s aggressive pricing makes Samsung’s top-tier phone tempting, but the real cost depends on your plan and how long you stay.
-
I'm 59 with $1.7 million saved and lost my job. Should I retire?We asked professional wealth planners for advice.
-
Nasdaq Leads as Tech Stages Late-Week Comeback: Stock Market TodayOracle stock boosted the tech sector on Friday after the company became co-owner of TikTok's U.S. operations.
-
Cooler Inflation Supports a Relief Rally: Stock Market TodayInvestors, traders and speculators welcome much-better-than-hoped-for core CPI data on top of optimism-renewing AI earnings.
-
The November CPI Report Is Out. Here's What It Means for Rising PricesThe November CPI report came in lighter than expected, but the delayed data give an incomplete picture of inflation, say economists.
-
Nasdaq Sinks 418 Points as Tech Chills: Stock Market TodayInvestors, traders and speculators are growing cooler to the AI revolution as winter approaches.
-
Stocks Chop as the Unemployment Rate Jumps: Stock Market TodayNovember job growth was stronger than expected, but sharp losses in October and a rising unemployment rate are worrying market participants.
-
The Delayed November Jobs Report Is Out. Here's What It Means for the Fed and Rate CutsThe November jobs report came in higher than expected, although it still shows plenty of signs of weakness in the labor market.
-
Stocks Struggle Ahead of November Jobs Report: Stock Market TodayOracle and Broadcom continued to fall, while market participants looked ahead to Tuesday's jobs report.
-
AI Stocks Lead Nasdaq's 398-Point Nosedive: Stock Market TodayThe major stock market indexes do not yet reflect the bullish tendencies of sector rotation and broadening participation.
