Nasdaq, gold scale all-time highs amid cautious Fed comments
Nasdaq closed at a record high on Monday and gold jumped to an all-time high as investors weighed hawkish statements from the Federal Reserve against evidence of cooling U.S. inflation.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the three major U.S. stock indexes with a boost from chips, as Nvidia Corp advanced ahead of its closely watched earnings report, expected on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 finished the session with a modest gain, while the blue-chip Dow dipped below 40,000 after closing on Friday above that level for the first time.
«The Nasdaq is being led higher by Nvidia, but otherwise they're a little bit stalled,» said Jay Hatfield, portfolio manager at InfraCap in New York. «The S&P 500 is 11% above its 200-day moving average, which is pretty extended.»
«We're in a range-bound market and Nvidia will dominate global equity trading this week.»
Comments from Fed officials have reflected the U.S. central bank's cautious view of its progress in reining in inflation and the timing of interest rate cuts.
Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said on Monday it was too early to tell if inflation slowdown is «long lasting,» while Vice Chair Michael Barr said restrictive policy needs more time. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said it will «take a while» for the central bank to be confident that price growth is on a sustainable downward path.
«The market is irrational; it started the year expecting six interest rate cuts, but then the pendulum swung completely to the other side, and everybody was talking about increases,» Hatfield
