Record Surge Continues – US Market Wrap

Wall Street traders sent stocks to all-time highs as bond yields fell, with traders looking at prospects for Federal Reserve rate cuts after Powell cited signals the US is back on a disinflationary path.

For the first time in its history, the S&P 500 closed above 5,500 to extend a blistering 2024 rally that has left analysts scrambling to update their targets. It was the gauge’s 32nd record this year. Tesla surged 10% to lead gains in megacaps, though NVIDIA failed to gain traction. The Nasdaq 100 hit the 20,000 mark.

Data Tuesday showed job openings unexpectedly rose, interrupting a trend that underscored a slowdown in labor seen as key for Fed easing. Powell said there’s been a “substantial” move toward better balance between the supply of and demand for workers. He described the job market as strong, but said it is cooling off appropriately so.

The record-setting surge in US equities, driven chiefly by American technology behemoths, is once again igniting comparisons to prior boom-and bust cycles on Wall Street. But parallels to the dot-com era and stock-market frenzies of the past are so far exaggerated, if history is any guide.