A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 2, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
The S&P 500 rose slightly on Monday as investors awaited a key Federal Reserve meeting slated for this week.
The broad market index traded 0.3% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered around the flatline. The Dow entered the session riding a seven-day losing streak. Noticeably absent from the Nasdaq’s trend higher was artificial intelligence darling Nvidia, which pulled back 2%. Shares of Apple, Tesla and Google-parent Alphabet all traded marginally higher.
The Fed set to begin its two-day policy meeting Tuesday. It’s expected to cut rates by a quarter-point at its conclusion on Wednesday. The key for investors will be forward guidance on future policy moves.
“While it’s easy to make a big deal about every single FOMC decision and press conference, this final one of 2024 may be the most intriguing,” said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. “Since the first cut in September, unemployment numbers have stabilized. However, the inflation numbers have ticked the other way ever so slightly. In fact, they have gone up each month since cuts began. Is this just ‘sticky’ or the start of a new trend?”
The stock market is coming off a sluggish week. The Dow lost 1.8% last week and has lost ground in each of the last seven sessions. The S&P 500 dipped 0.6%, and has retreated in four of the past five sessions. The Nasdaq outperformed, grinding out a gain of 0.3% for the week.
After a broad rally following President-elect Donald Trump’s November win, the stock market appears to have reverted to a narrow tech-led move in recent days.
Source: S&P 500 rises to start the week as Wall Street gets ready for Fed meeting this week: Live
