Nasdaq jumps as yields fall, Boeing weighs on Dow

NEW YORK - The Nasdaq closed with a gain of at least 1 per cent for the first time in 2024 on Jan 8, as a fall in Treasury yields helped lift megacap stocks, while a sharp drop in Boeing shares kept gains on the Dow Industrials in check.

Megacaps such as Amazon.com and Alphabet gained as Treasury yields fell ahead of readings on inflation and a new supply of government debt this week, with the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield hitting a low of 3.966 per cent on the session.

In addition, Apple also advanced after the iPhone maker said its Vision Pro mixed-reality device will be available for sale from Feb 2 in the United States.

Chipmakers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices surged and the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index ended up around 3 per cent after dropping 5.8 per cent last week, its biggest weekly percentage fall since October 2022.

“This is definitely a yield-driven market for now and investors are trying to discount when and how many rate cuts we will see, the timing and the magnitude of rate cuts,” said Bill Merz, head of capital markets research at US Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.

“Now we’re probably in a more rational place in terms of yields and it’s a question of, is the market getting that right and are yields falling for the right reasons or the wrong reasons? And investors have so far taken the view that yields are falling for all the right reasons, that the Fed is navigating what thus far has been a soft landing.”

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 66.19 points, or 1.41 per cent, to end at 4,763.51 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 319.70 points, or 2.20 per cent, to 14,843.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 216.44 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 37,682.55.

Meanwhile, Boeing shares plunged after the plane maker and US regulators gave the go-ahead on Monday for airlines to inspect jets that were grounded after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated 737 MAX 9 in mid-flight which forced a dramatic landing of the airliner over the weekend.

The S&P 500 energy index was the sole decliner among the 11 S&P 500 sectors after hitting its lowest level in a month as crude prices sank about 4 per cent after sharp price cuts by top exporter Saudi Arabia and a rise in OPEC output.

On Friday, the benchmark S&P 500 snapped a nine-week streak of gains, as investors dialed back expectations on how aggressive the Federal Reserve would be in cutting interest rates this year following a mixed bag of economic data on the labor market and services sector.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Jan 8 that the central bank’s dual goals of lowering inflation and maintaining low unemployment are not yet in conflict.

Money markets now see a 63.8 per cent chance of at least a 25 basis-point (bps) rate cut as soon as March, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool, down from 88.5 per cent a week ago.

Investors will eye inflation data this week in the form of the consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) to shape expectations for the path of interest rates by the Fed. REUTERS