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Stock market today: Nasdaq pops as investors shrug off Fed, Tesla rallies ahead of Elon Musk pay decision

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Stock market today: Nasdaq pops as investors shrug off Fed, Tesla rallies ahead of Elon Musk pay decision

US stocks traded mixed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 holding near its record high as investors weighed the two-way pull of cooling inflation and a Federal Reserve pullback on interest rate cuts.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell below the flatline after the benchmark topped 5,400 to close at a fresh all-time high. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) popped 0.2% on the heels of taking out a record of its own, as tech stocks led the broader charge higher. But the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) headed lower, down 0.7%.

Stocks notched records on a dramatic day that brought a double dose of market-moving events: A lower-than-expected consumer inflation print and the Fed’s outlook for rates.

But policymakers’ shift from three rate cuts this year to just one didn’t appear to faze investors, given Chair Jerome Powell’s reminder that the projection isn’t set in stone. Traders are still pricing in two rate cuts starting in September, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Read more: How does the labor market affect inflation?

The producer price index for May fell in what appears to be the latest sign that inflation is easing. The reading dropped 0.2% month-over-month after rising 0.5% in April.

Also looming large is the Tesla (TSLA) shareholders’ vote on whether to approve a $56 billion pay package for its CEO Elon Musk, a measure which some big investors were against. Overnight Musk said the compensation and the EV maker’s move to Texas have been passed “by wide margins.” Tesla stock jumped about 4% on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a jump in Broadcom (AVGO) shares lifted the spirits of a market looking to AI and techs to fuel a rally. The chipmaker, a key supplier to Apple (AAPL), is on track for its biggest gain since 2020 after upbeat results boosted by AI demand.

Live4 updates

  • Bitcoin sinks 4% to hover around $66,500

    Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell more than 4% on Thursday to hover near its June low. The cryptocurrency traded at around $66,500 per token at 11:45 a.m ET.

    Crypto-related stocks were also impacted.

    Coinbase (COIN) fell 4% while MicroStrategy (MSTR) dropped more than 6%. Crypto miner Marathon Digital (MARA) also slid 4%.

  • Tax cuts vs ‘direct investments’: Trump and Biden make dueling pitches to business leaders

    Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul reports:

    Both the Trump campaign and the Biden administration are offering an outreach to the business world Thursday with dueling events that crystallize their different promises to corporate America should they win the election.

    Both are in a sense offering carrots, just of a different flavor.

    Donald Trump, who is set to meet Thursday morning with a group of prominent CEOs in Washington DC, is supremely focused on tax cuts as well as cutting government regulations.

    The promise from Biden’s team is that a second term would be focused, as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to say in a Thursday speech to New York business leaders, on “public interventions to create a supportive environment for business and fuel private sector investments.”

    It remains to be seen which approach resonates with both the overall business community and with the public at large.

    But many CEOs have signaled a close focus on taxes in the coming year ahead of the expiration of key provisions in the 2017 Trump tax cuts coming at the end of 2025.

    Read more here.

  • Nvidia and Broadcom touch new highs

    Nvidia (NVDA) shares gained as much as 3% on Thursday to touch new all-time intraday highs after peer chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO) posted upbeat quarterly results boosted by AI demand.

    Broadcom also announced a 10-for-1 stock split, sending shares to record highs on Thursday. The key supplier to Apple (AAPL), is on track for its biggest gain since 2020.

  • S&P 500, Nasdaq inch higher as Tesla pops 5%

    The Nasdaq and S&P 500 held near record highs on Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s inclination to cut rates only one time this year while tech shares gained.

    The S&P 500 (^GSPC) edged up 0.2% after the benchmark topped 5,400 to close at a fresh all-time high. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) popped 0.6% on the heels of taking out a record of its own, as tech stocks led the broader charge higher.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) edged lower, down 0.3%

    Tesla (TSLA) shares opened 5% higher after Elon Musk indicated two important shareholder votes, one of which included his $56 billion pay package, had passed “by wide margins.”

    The Federal Reserve hinted at just one rate cut later this year, pulling back the market’s expectation of at least two reductions. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) held rates unchanged on Wednesday after its two-day meeting. The decision came on the heels of the latest Consumer Price Index which signaled cooling inflation for the month of May.

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