Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq rise as investors start countdown to Fed decision

US stocks tipped higher on Monday after bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose to a fresh record, as investors geared up for the Federal Reserve’s final policy decision of the year later in the week.

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up roughly 0.5%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose slightly, on the heels of a losing week for those major gauges.

Meanwhile, software company MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) stock popped ahead of the bitcoin buyer joining the Nasdaq 100 (^NDX). Bitcoin itself surged to an all-time high above $106,000 as hopes for a crypto-friendly Trump administration continued to fly high, before easing back to around $104,000.

Markets are taking their foot off the gas as the final Federal Reserve meeting of the year approaches. Its interest-rate decision on Wednesday is already in high focus as Wall Street watches for a catalyst to revive this year’s stellar stock rally.

Investors see a final 2024 rate cut as a sure thing, with 97% of traders currently pricing in a 25 basis point move. The bigger question now is whether the Fed is ready to scale back on its “dot plot” that laid out four more small cuts in 2025, given persistently sticky inflation and potential Trump administration challenges.

This week also brings an update to the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — and a reading on US retail sales in November for insights into consumer resilience.

The Fed’s decision headlines a busy week of central bank rate calls worldwide, with the Bank of Japan among those set to make policy announcements.

Elsewhere, China’s latest reading on retail sales fell short of forecasts, putting pressure on oil prices. Brent (BZ=F) slipped slightly to near $74 a barrel after rising almost 5% last week, while West Texas intermediate (CL=F) edged down below $71.

On the corporate front, Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI) shares were down 3%, recovering from deeper pre-market losses. The struggling server maker is set to be removed from the Nasdaq 100.

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MicroStrategy stock jumps as its bitcoin buying spree continues

Investors are cheering MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) bet on bitcoin (BTC-USD). Its stock rose more than 3% after the software company said in an earlier filing Monday that it had recently purchased another $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency, meaning the company now owns 439,000 bitcoins.

Also on Monday, bitcoin briefly hit a new high above $106,000. Its upswing has been fueled by the election of crypto-friendly president elect Donald Trump.

MSTR has also gotten a boost from news last Friday that it’s set to join the Nasdaq 100 on Dec. 23.

MSTR shares are now up 565% for the year, and the stock has jumped roughly 15% in the past month along.

MSTR will be joined by Palantir (PLTR) and Axon Enterprise (AXON) on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, replacing Illumina (ILMN), Super Micro (SMCI) and Moderna (MRNA).
US economy growing at fastest pace in nearly there years to end 2024

US economic output hit its highest level in nearly three years to close out 2024, according to the latest data from S&P Global.

S&P Global’s flash US composite PMI, which captures activity in both the services and manufacturing sectors, came in at 56.6 in December, up from 54.9 in August. Economists had expected the index to tick up to 55.1

Increased activity in the services sector drove the gains, with the services PMI business activity index hitting a reading of 58.5, its highest level in 38 months. Meanwhile, manufacturing PMI declined to 48.3 in December, down from 47.9, and marking a three-month low for the index.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the US economy grew at its fastest pace in nearly three years in December “consistent with GDP rising at an annualized rate of just over 3% in December.”

“Business is booming in the US services economy, where output is growing at the sharpest rate since the reopening of the economy from COVID lockdowns in 2021,” Williamson said in the release.
How Walmart’s $90 billion Sam’s Club is aiming to take down Costco

Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma reports:

Sam’s Club is riding the dual waves of Walmart’s (WMT) rise as budget-conscious consumers flock to wholesale retailers.

Led by CEO Chris Nicholas, who started in September 2023, the wholesale club founded in 1983 by Walmart founder Sam Walton has been a beneficiary of inflation-weary shoppers.

In its most recent fiscal quarter, same-store sales, excluding fuel, jumped 7%, compared to a 3.8% increase in the same time period a year ago. Through the nine months ended Oct. 31, Sam’s Club has hauled in $67.2 billion in sales and $1.8 billion in operating profits.

Read more here.
Stocks edge higher with Fed in focus, as bitcoin hovers near $104K

Stocks edged higher on Monday as investors turned their focus to the Federal Reserve’s final rate policy meeting of the year this week, and bitcoin (BTC-USD) hovered near $104,000 per token after surging to a new record.

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose more than 0.4%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained slightly on the heels of the longest losing streak for the blue-chip index.

Much of the market action was happening in the crypto space. Bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) shares poppied more than 4% on news of the software firm’s inclusion in the Nasdaq 100.

Bitcoin itself surged to an all-time high above $106,000 on Sunday before easing to $104,000 at last check.

Investors widely anticipate a rate cut announcement on Wednesday following the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee’s meeting, but the trajectory of future reductions appears less clear following recent hotter-than-expected inflation data.
Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.