S&P 500 rises, Nasdaq hovers near fresh record as countdown to Fed decision begins

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC

) ripped higher to touch all-time intraday highs on Monday, fueled by gains in shares of Tesla (TSLA).

The EV giant stock soared more than 5%, sending the company’s market cap valuation a stone’s throw away from$1.5 trillion.

Chip maker Broadcom (AVGO) gained more than 9% after the company’s market cap surpassed $1 trillion for the first time on Friday following a bullish sales outlook driven by AI.

Meanwhile shares of Google parent company Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) also rose more than 5% to hit fresh records.

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was headed towards a record close on Monday with a handful of the ‘Management 7’ stocks climbing to new intraday highs while Nvidia slid.

Shares of the AI chip maker fell roughly 2.5% in continuation of their recent downward trend.

Meanwhile Google parent company Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) and EV maker Tesla (TSLA) rose more than 4% to touch fresh record highs. Amazon (AMZN) also touched new records earlier in the session.

Apple (AAPL) also hit all-time intraday highs as the iPhone maker gained roughly 1%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) related stocks gained on Monday as bitcoin (BTC-USD) soared to new all-time highs beyond $106,800.

The token proxy MicroStrategy (MSTR) gained more than 4% on the heels of news the software company will be included in the Nasdaq 100 (^NDX). MicroStrategy has been a major buyer of bitcoin.

“Inclusion in Nasdaq100 further improves MSTR’s market liquidity, further expanding its capital flywheel and Bitcoin buying program,” wrote Bernstein analysts on Monday.

Mining stocks also rose with MARA Holdings (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) both gaining more than 9% and 7%, respectively.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) recaptured investor attention on Monday as the world’s major cryptocurrency surged to new highs above $106,600.

The token traded above the $106,000 threshold around 11:00 a.m. ET after first touching fresh records late Sunday night.

The cryptocurrency has surged more than 50% since Donald Trump’s White House win last month amid expectations of crypto-friendly policies under his administration.

Super Micro Computer stock (SMCI) sank as much as 14% early Monday before paring losses. The stock was down roughly 5% an hour after the market opened.

Investors are reacting to recent news that the company will be booted on Dec. 23 from the Nasdaq 100, along with Moderna (MRNA) and Illumina (ILMN).

Super Micro makes servers using Nvidia’s (NVDA) AI chips for data centers, which power generative artificial intelligence software.

The company is facing a potential delisting from the Nasdaq Exchange due to delays in submitting its annual and quarterly filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Those delays occurred after a report from short-selling firm Hindenburg Research this summer that accused Super Micro of accounting violations among other things.

Super Micro was recently granted an extension by the Nasdaq and must submit its filings to the SEC by Feb. 25.

Investors are cheering MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) bet on bitcoin (BTC-USD). Its stock rose more than 3% after the software company said in an earlier filing Monday it had recently purchased another $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency, meaning the company now owns 439,000 bitcoins.

Also on Monday, bitcoin hit a new high above $106,000. Its upswing has been fueled by the election of crypto-friendly president elect Donald Trump.

MicroStrategy also got a boost from news last Friday that it’s set to join the Nasdaq 100 on Dec. 23.

MicroStrategy shares are now up 565% for the year, and the stock has jumped roughly 15% in the past month alone.

MSTR will be joined by Palantir (PLTR) and Axon Enterprise (AXON) on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, replacing Illumina (ILMN), Super Micro (SMCI), and Moderna (MRNA).

US economic output hit its highest level in nearly three years to close out 2024, according to the latest data from S&P Global.

S&P Global’s flash US composite PMI, which captures activity in both the services and manufacturing sectors, came in at 56.6 in December, up from 54.9 in August. Economists had expected the index to tick up to 55.1.

Increased activity in the services sector drove the gains, with the services PMI business activity index hitting a reading of 58.5, its highest level in 38 months. Meanwhile, manufacturing PMI declined to 48.3 in December, down from 47.9, and marking a three-month low for the index. A reading above 50 reflects expansion.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the US economy grew at its fastest pace in nearly three years in December “consistent with GDP rising at an annualized rate of just over 3% in December.”

“Business is booming in the US services economy, where output is growing at the sharpest rate since the reopening of the economy from COVID lockdowns in 2021,” Williamson said in the release.

Sam’s Club is riding the dual waves of Walmart’s (WMT) rise as budget-conscious consumers flock to wholesale retailers, Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma reports.

Led by CEO Chris Nicholas, who started in September 2023, the wholesale club founded in 1983 by Walmart founder Sam Walton has been a beneficiary of inflation-weary shoppers.

In its most recent fiscal quarter, same-store sales, excluding fuel, jumped 7%, compared to a 3.8% increase in the same time period a year ago. Through the nine months ended Oct. 31, Sam’s Club has hauled in $67.2 billion in sales and $1.8 billion in operating profits.

Read more here.

Stocks edged higher on Monday as investors turned their focus to the Federal Reserve’s final rate policy meeting of the year this week and bitcoin (BTC-USD) hovered near $104,000 per token after surging to a new record.

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose more than 0.4%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained slightly on the heels of the longest losing streak for the blue-chip index.

Much of the market action was happening in the crypto space. Bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) shares popped more than 4% on news of the software firm’s inclusion in the Nasdaq 100.

Bitcoin itself surged to an all-time high above $106,000 on Sunday before easing to $104,000 at last check.

Investors widely anticipate a rate cut announcement on Wednesday following the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee’s meeting, but the trajectory of future reductions appears less clear following recent hotter-than-expected inflation data.