What happened last week…
Both the DJIA (-1.82%) and the S&P 500 (-0.64%) finished lower for the week while tech-heavy NASDAQ gained 0.34%. NASDAQ extended its streak of gains to four weeks, while the S&P 500 saw its winning streak end at three weeks. The DJIA notched back-to-back weeks in the red. Year-to-date performances are as follows: DJIA (16.29%), S&P 500 (26.86%), NASDAQ (32.74%).
Nvidia (NVDA) shares were lower after China opened an anti-monopoly investigation into the company’s $6.9 billion acquisition of Israeli technology company Mellanox, which was approved in 2020. The announcement could be seen as yet another battle between the U.S. and China over semiconductors, AI technology, and trade tensions.
Alphabet (GOOG) announced its latest quantum chip called Willow, which has substantial computing abilities. For instance, “Willow performed a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion (that is, 1025) years — a number that vastly exceeds the age of the Universe.” While the feat is remarkable, quantum computing has no real-world uses just yet.
The inflation rate year-over-year for November matched expectations as it increased to 2.7% from 2.6%, which marks back-to-back months of increases and the highest reading since July (2.9%). The rate peaked at 9.1% in June 2022. The core inflation rate year-over-year for November matched expectations as it remained at 3.3% for the third consecutive month. The September reading was the first monthly increase since March 2023.
Happening this week…
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee has its final meeting of the year regarding interest rate decisions. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, as of December 13, there is a 93.4% probability that rates will be reduced by 25 basis points. The current interest rate range is 4.50% to 4.75%.
On Thursday, the GDP growth rate (final estimate) for Q3 2024 is expected to match the second estimate of 2.8%, which would be a decline from the Q2 2024 rate of 3.0%. The Q1 2024 rate of 1.6% was the lowest growth since the Covid pandemic.
On Thursday, existing home sales for November are expected to increase to 3.97 million from 3.96 million, which was a rebound from a 14-year low and is tied for the highest figure over the past five months.
Thanks for Reading!
- The Rockline Team