Stock Market Today: Stocks Gain Ground Ahead of Inflation Data, Fed Meeting
The major indexes continued to rise ahead of tomorrow's CPI report and Wednesday's Fed policy announcement.
Stocks closed higher Monday ahead of tomorrow's highly anticipated release of the May consumer price index (CPI) report and Wednesday's policy announcement from the Federal Reserve.
While market participants kept a cautious eye on these two upcoming events, some single-stock news, including Tesla's (TSLA) longest win streak on record and a pre-earnings upgrade for Oracle (ORCL), was also in focus.
The major market indexes carried last week's modest gains into today's session. At the close, the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.5% at 13,461, the S&P 500 was 0.9% higher at 4,338, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 0.6% to 34,066.
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.
Optimism continues to reign on Wall Street, says Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. This upbeat mood is being driven by anticipation that the Fed will "hold interest rates steady at its meeting this week and that the economy may still be able to emerge from the central bank's 14-month rate hike cycle without slipping into recession," Schutte notes.
The futures market is currently pricing in 77% chance the Federal Reserve will pause when it concludes its meeting on Wednesday, according to CME Group. However, there's a 56% probability for a quarter-point rate hike at the next Fed meeting in July.
Monday's major stock movers: Carnival, Tesla, Oracle
In single-stock news, Carnival (CCL) popped 12.5% after the consumer discretionary stock was upgraded to the equivalent of Buy at JPMorgan and BofA Securities, with both firms citing continued demand strength in the cruise industry. Most analysts are already upbeat toward CCL stock. Of the 21 analysts following Carnival tracked by S&P Global Market Intelligence, nine say it's a Strong Buy, three have it at Buy, six call it a Hold and three rate it a Strong Sell. This works out to a consensus recommendation of Buy.
Tesla was another notable mover, rising 2.2%. This marked the 12th straight gain for TSLA stock – its longest daily win streak on record – a time frame that's seen shares surge roughly 35%.
Meanwhile, Oracle jumped 6.1% after Wolfe Research analyst Alex Zukin upgraded the tech stock to Outperform from Peer Perform, the equivalents of Buy and Hold, respectively. Zukin believes the company's Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) division could double its market share by 2024 due in part to having "an early moving advantage" in generative artificial intelligence. ORCL is up another 3.5% in after-hours trading after reporting a top-line beat.
Adobe stock rises ahead of earnings
ORCL wasn't the only stock rallying ahead of earnings. Adobe (ADBE), which will disclose its quarterly results after Thursday's close, soared 4.5% today. The Photoshop parent could be poised to become a top AI stock, say several Wall Street pros, including Oppenheimer analyst Brian Schwartz.
"Adobe is deepening the competitive moat with Firefly, its generative AI engine," Schwartz wrote in a note to clients. "Firefly has the capacity to dispel the bear case over digital media penetration and a future of only average industry revenue growth for Adobe." Still, the analyst has a Perform rating on ADBE, or the equivalent of Hold, due to "valuation after a large move up in the stock price after a good software market rally recently."
Indeed, shares are up more than 40% in the last three months, though this is hardly anything new for ADBE. Not only has Adobe been a recent market-beater, but it's turned in a jaw-dropping return for those who invested $1,000 in the software stock 20 years ago.
Related Content
-
Gold and Silver Shine as Stocks Chop: Stock Market TodayStocks struggled in Friday's low-volume session, but the losses weren't enough to put the Santa Claus Rally at risk.
-
Don't Wait Until January: Your Year-End Health Checklist to Kickstart 2026Skip the fleeting resolutions and start the new year with a proactive plan to optimize your longevity, cognitive health, and social vitality.
-
Premium Rewards Cards: More Perks, Higher FeesSome issuers are hiking the annual fee on their flagship luxury credit cards by hundreds of dollars. Are they still worth using?
-
Stocks Rise to the Spirit of the Season: Stock Market TodayInvestors, traders and speculators are beginning to like the looks of a potential year-end rally.
-
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.
-
Nasdaq Sinks 418 Points as Tech Chills: Stock Market TodayInvestors, traders and speculators are growing cooler to the AI revolution as winter approaches.
-
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.
-
Dow Adds 646 Points, Hits New Highs: Stock Market TodayIt was "boom" for the Dow but "bust" for the Nasdaq following a December Fed meeting that was less hawkish than expected.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Coca-Cola Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayEven with its reliable dividend growth and generous stock buybacks, Coca-Cola has underperformed the broad market in the long term.
-
If You Put $1,000 into Qualcomm Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You Would Have TodayQualcomm stock has been a big disappointment for truly long-term investors.
