The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained for five weeks in a row, but on Monday it fell back from its 2023 high as investors wondered if the market was getting ahead of itself.
87 points, or 0.2%, were removed from the blue-chip Dow. Selling of Big Tech equities, which have led the market’s advances this year, caused the S&P 500 to lose 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite to drop 0.9%.
Gold and bitcoin surged early this week while stocks remained flat. When gold hit its highest nominal intraday level ever, bitcoin broke beyond $41,000 to record a 19-month high.
The rise in bitcoin caused shares of Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms to rise by more than 10% and 12%, respectively. More than 6% and 7%, respectively, were won by Coinbase and Microstrategy.
After deciding to pay $1.9 billion to acquire competitor Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines had a decline of more than 17%. Alaska is making this step as part of its plans to grow along the West Coast.
The market saw a surge as traders considered the monetary policy’s next course, but Monday’s actions represent a retreat. Technology stocks performed poorly throughout the session; these stocks are thought to be most susceptible to changes in interest rates. More than 2% fell for Nvidia, Alphabet, and Meta.
The broad S&P 500 saw its best closing price since March 2022 on Friday, increasing its gains for the year to about 20%. The blue-chip Dow is up 9.4% on the year and just enjoyed its first winning run of five weeks since 2021. In 2023, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had a 37% increase.
The increase in stock prices since October can be attributed to investors’ growing wagers that the Federal Reserve would begin lowering interest rates in 2019. Despite efforts by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to temper expectations of rate cuts by stating that it is “premature” to anticipate policy easing, investors held onto this notion last week.
Source (CNBC)
