Stocks were mixed at the start of the holiday-shortened week as investors focused on key inflation readings on Friday. Though the market was mixed, one of the three major indexes ended at a record high.
in particular, Nasdaq Composite Index It rose 0.6% to 17,019, a new record high. S&P 500On the other hand, there was a slight increase at 5,306, Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell 0.6% to 38,852.
The rise in the Nasdaq, which is dominated by tech stocks, was supported by a strong increase in semiconductor manufacturers. NVIDIA (NVDA). Indeed, 7 Great Stocks It rose 7%, adding over $180 billion to its market cap. To put that in perspective, that’s roughly the market cap of any other company. Blue chip stock McDonald’s (MCD, -1.8%).
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News that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI raised $6 billion in its latest funding round over the weekend, valuing the company at $24 billion, boosted shares, but for NVDA, today’s gains are only in line with the company’s stock price, which has nearly tripled in the past 12 months.
At $1,140 a share, NVDA stock is currently out of reach for most retail investors looking to buy individual shares. Still, the large stock is widely held by many funds, so investors are likely already invested in Nvidia. Upcoming Stock Splits An event of little importance.
Hess shareholders approve Chevron acquisition
Other individual stock news includes: Chevron (CVX) was one of the best Dow Jones Stock Price Up 0.8% today Hess (HES, +0.4%) Shareholders approved a $53 billion merger with the oil giant.
CVX will start by Acquired oil exploration and production company in October last yearToday’s vote clears one hurdle for Chevron, but others must be overcome before it can move forward with the Hess acquisition.
First, approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Analysts at Susquehanna International Group wrote: Biju Perincheril We think it could happen within the next month.
“The final gate item is the arbitration process. ExxonMobil (XOM, +1.3%), our understanding is that a final judgment could take until the fourth quarter of this year (unless the parties reach some sort of settlement sooner), Perincheril wrote in a client note.
Consumer confidence rises in May
Meanwhile, on today’s economic calendar, according to data from The Conference Board: Consumer Confidence Index It rose from 97.5 in April to 102.0 in May.
“Confidence improved in May after three consecutive months of declines,” it said. Dana PetersonThe Conference Board’s chief economist, Peterson, noted that the strengthening employment situation helped improve outlooks for the labor market in May. “Views of current labor market conditions improved in May, as fewer respondents said jobs were ‘hard to find,’ more than offsetting a slight decline in those saying jobs were ‘plentiful,'” Peterson added.
The Fed’s favorite inflation gauge is due to be released on Friday.
Most investors are focused on Friday’s release of the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation proxy for measuring consumer spending.
Whether the stock market’s recent rally will continue “will depend on whether investors remain open to rate cuts following this week’s numbers,” he said. Chris LarkinHe joined E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley as Managing Director of Trading and Investments.
Market participants have accepted the fact that the first rate cuts will come as soon as September, but “there is still the potential for market volatility if inflation measures become more volatile,” Larkin added.
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