Nasdaq hits 20,000 as inflation data raises Dec rate-cut hopes

By Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan

(Reuters) - The Nasdaq crossed 20,000 points for the first time on Wednesday, as tech stocks rallied after the latest inflation report raised hopes of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve later this month.

A Labor Department report showed U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in seven months in November, though broadly in line with market expectations.

"Nasdaq is rallying on the prospect of a rate cut next week and has room to move higher," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities.

At 12:16 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 36.70 points, or 0.08%, to 44,284.53, the S&P 500 gained 54.47 points, or 0.90%, to 6,089.12 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 342.10 points, or 1.74%, to 20,028.02.

Bets on the Fed cutting 25 basis points next week jumped to more than 94%, compared with an 86% chance before the data, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. Bets had risen following Friday's employment report, which showed an uptick in unemployment alongside a surge in job growth.

Also expected this week is a producer price reading on Thursday.

Yields on U.S. government bonds were choppy ahead of an auction of 10-year notes worth $39 billion later in the day. It was last at 4.2419%. [US/]

Six of the 11 major S&P sub-sectors were trading higher, with consumer discretionary rising 1.8%, while communication services added 2.8%.

Most megacap and growth stocks were higher, with Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL ) up 4.6% and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA ) gaining 3.1%. Both hit all-time highs on an intraday basis.

"Despite the rise (in tech stocks), valuations have not gotten too out of hand, so provided earnings (growth) can continue in the next year, I don't see why the (tech) rally can't continue," said Tom Bruce, macro investment strategist, Tanglewood Total (EPA:TTEF ) Wealth Management.

On the flip side, the blue-chip Dow was weighed down by a 5.1% decline in UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH ).

Among other top movers, GameStop (NYSE:GME ) gained 9.9% after the videogame retailer reported a profit for the third quarter on cost-saving efforts.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO ) jumped 5.3% following a report that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL ) is working with the company to develop its first server chip specially designed for artificial intelligence.

Macy's (NYSE:M ) shed 5.7% after the department-store bellwether cut its annual profit forecast as persistent weakness in demand clouded its expectations for the holiday shopping season.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH ) dipped 6.1% as it said it would report fourth-quarter revenue below its previous forecast due to a larger-than-anticipated impact from currency exchange rates.



Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.73-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.33-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 88 new highs and 87 new lows.

Source: Investing.com