Nasdaq hits record high on Tesla-led charge in tech; Fed meeting eyed

Investing.com -- The Nasdaq hit a record high Monday, led by Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA ) as investors look ahead to the last Federal Reserve policy meeting of the year.

At 12:48 ET (17:48 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 38 points lower, or 0.1%, the S&P 500 index gained 1%, and the NASDAQ Composite climbed 1.1%, and earlier hit an record intraday high of 20,145.48. Fed rate cut on tap, 2025 outlook in focus

The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the conclusion of a two-day meeting on Wednesday, after the central bank kicked off an easing cycle earlier in the year.

The move will bring rates down by a total of 100 bps in 2024.

But focus this week will be squarely on the central bank’s plans for future easing, especially in the face of potentially sticky inflation and resilience in the labor market.

Analysts broadly expected the central bank to signal a slower pace of rate cuts in the coming year, with recent comments from Fed officials also suggesting as much.

Traders were seen pricing in a 79.7% chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged when it meets in January, CME Fedwatch showed.

Preliminary S&P Global PMI activity data will also be studied for clues of the strength of the economy.   Tesla hits fresh record high, MicroStrategy in spotlight; Ford falls on downgrade

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR ) stock rose over 6% after it was announced as a new addition to the Nasdaq 100 index .

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F ), meanwhile, fell more than 3% after Jefferies downgraded shares to underperform from hold, citing concerns over excess inventory.

Capri Holdings (NYSE:CPRI ) shares rose 6% after Women’s Wear Daily reported that the company is exploring potential buyers for its Versace and Jimmy Choo brands, working with Barclays (LON:BARC ) to facilitate the process.

While discussions are in the early stages, it remains unclear whether the two brands will be sold together, separately, or at all.

Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON ), meanwhile, rose more than 3% after announcing that it was mulling the possibility of spinning off its aerospace division. The move comes amid activist investor pressure.

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)

Source: Investing.com