The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite rose to another record high on Thursday as the broader market continued its rally following Donald Trump's election victory and reacted to the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision. The broader market index rose over 0.7% to a new high of 5,973.10, while the tech-heavy index advanced 1.5% to its first close above 19,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, settled at the flatline after rallying over 1,500 points on Wednesday.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
FedWatch:
The Federal Reserve cut its federal funds target rate by 0.25 percentage points to a range of 4.50% to 4.75% on Thursday, in a move largely expected by Wall Street.
In his post-meeting statement, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is pursuing interest rate cuts in response to tight monetary policy, believing that lowering bowering costs are necessary for its goal of maintaining maximum employment and price stability. However, Powell noted that rising U.S. deficit and fiscal policy remain headwinds for growth of the U.S. economy.
"The federal government's fiscal path, fiscal policy, is on an unsustainable path," Powell said. "The level of our debt relative to the economy is not unsuitable, the path is unsustainable."
"And we see that in a very large deficit, you're at full employment [and] that's expected to continue, so it's important that be dealt with," Powell added. "It is ultimately a threat to the economy."
Separately, Powell said he will not step down if Trump asks for his resignation, telling reporters that it is "not permitted under the law," for a president to either fire or demote him. Trump said in an interview last month that the president should be able to be apart of interest rate decisions.
On the Earnings Front:
Lyft
"At Lyft, we envision a robust future that brings together human drivers and autonomous vehicles in an always-on transportation network," CEO David Rischer told analysts during the company's earnings call on its multiple partnerships in the autonomous vehicle industry.
"Adding AVs is a huge opportunity, and we look forward to partnering with even more leaders in the industry to shape its future," Rischer added. "Stay tuned because this is just the beginning."
The company now expects bookings of $4.28 billion to $4.35 billion in the fourth quarter, coming ahead of consensus estimates from FactSet.
Moderna
The company said it plans to file for approval of its "next-generation" COVID vaccine and combination shot targeting COVID and the flu by the end of the year. Moderna also expects to apply to expand the approval of its RSV vaccine.
Moderna also reiterated its full-year 2024 product sales outlook of roughly $3 billion to $3.5 billion. The biotech currently has 45 products in development, and expects to launch 10 of them to the market over the next three years.
Warner Bros. Discovery
Arm Holdings
SolarEdge Technologies
Bank of America analyst Dimple Gosai downgraded SolarEdge to Underperform from Neutral on Thursday and cut the firm's price target to reflect a more than 4% downside from Wednesday's close, citing potential headwinds from President-elect Donald Trump's proposed plans to amend the Inflation Reduction Act and raise tariffs that could impact the clean energy industry.
"We think inverter companies could be adversely affected in a scenario where we see risk to the domestic content bonuses and reduced residential ITC credits, diminishing the appeal of rooftop solar," Gosai wrote in a note to clients.
"Solar trackers could also face significant challenges on potentially softer demand from U.S. utility-scale solar developers, especially if tariffs and the loss of domestic content adders inflate project costs," he added.
For Friday:
Market participants will react to more Fedspeak as well as November's preliminary consumer sentiment reading on Friday, alongside earnings reports from companies including Airbnb
