S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch record highs as Nvidia gains
Nasdaq notched record-high closes on Tuesday, fueled by gains in Nvidia after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers that more «good» economic data would strengthen the case for rate cuts.
AI chipmaker Nvidia climbed 2.5%, offsetting declines in other chip stocks.
Microsoft dipped 1.4%, while Tesla added 3.7%, bringing its gain in 2024 to 5%.
It was the Nasdaq's sixth straight record-high close and the S&P 500's fifth straight as optimism about the growth of AI across the U.S. corporate landscape offset uncertainty around the Fed's rate-cut path.
In testimony before Congress, Powell said that while inflation «remains above» the 2% soft-landing target, it has been improving in recent months and «more good data would strengthen» the case for interest-rate cuts.
However, the central bank chief insisted he was not «sending any signals about the timing of any future actions.»
Markets have stuck to pricing in 50 basis points of easing for the year, seeing a nearly 72% chance for a 25 bps cut by the Fed's September meeting, according to CME's FedWatch. Those bets were at under 50% a month ago.
«The U.S. economy, and currently the U.S. labor market, have been surprisingly resilient through the course of 2024 and our base case is that a recession is not the highest probability outcome, but rather we should continue to expect moderate growth through the balance of this year and into next,» said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.
Inflation data is also due this
