US Stocks Reach New Highs
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks climbed to record levels on Monday, building on a rally that feels almost relentless at this point. The S&P 500 increased by 0.2% after recovering from an earlier slight dip in the morning. By 11:30 AM Eastern time, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 8 points, essentially flat, while the Nasdaq composite rose by 0.3%. All three indexes are on track to surpass the recent all-time highs set on Friday.
Since April, stocks have surged, with hopes that President Trump’s tariffs won’t disrupt global trade and that the Federal Reserve will implement a series of interest rate cuts to stimulate the U.S. economy. Just last week, the Fed made its first rate cut, signaling a willingness to act before the year’s end.
“Whenever it seems like the market is losing momentum, we somehow manage to push it up even higher,” noted Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Market.
However, there are still hurdles ahead for the U.S. stock market. One key concern is whether the Fed will actually lower interest rates as often as investors hope. The Fed appears to be cautious since reducing rates could further fuel inflation, which has been stubbornly over the 2% target. A recent update indicated that prices for American households are increasing, but economists are looking for a minor uptick in figures from last month.
Moreover, professional investors are starting to think that stock prices might already be a bit inflated following a significant rise.
Coinbase Global saw one of the biggest declines on Wall Street on Monday, dropping by 3.5%. Still, it’s worth noting that the stock has jumped by 33% this year due to growing interest in cryptocurrency and rising prices amid anticipation of interest rate cuts. However, some of those gains were reversed on Monday.
On a more positive note, Oracle’s performance helped to offset Coinbase’s losses, contributing significantly to the S&P 500’s upward movement. Oracle saw a 4% gain after officials from the Trump administration revealed that the company would receive a version of TikTok’s algorithm to provide services within the U.S.
Additionally, Oracle announced leadership changes, with Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia stepping in as co-CEOs while the current CEO, Safra Catz, transitions to an executive vice chair role on the company’s board.
Elsewhere in the market, activity surged among companies announcing plans to merge. Pfizer has indicated its intention to acquire Metsera for a deal initially valued at $4.9 billion, focusing on developing medications that may treat obesity. If Metsera’s candidates pass federal regulatory approval and other criteria, the deal’s value could increase by nearly 50%.
Metsera shares rose by 62.1%, while Pfizer’s stock gained 2.1%. ODP, which operates Office Depot and Office Max, also experienced a major bump of 33.2% following Atlas Holdings’ announcement to buy it in a deal valued at around $1 billion. Moreover, Compass announced plans to acquire the firm behind Coldwell Banker and Corcoran, resulting in a 53.5% rise in their stock, although Compass stock fell by 11.2%.
Internationally, stock performance was mixed across European and Asian markets. The Nikkei 225 in Japan increased by 1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 0.8%.
In the bond market, Treasury yields remained relatively stable, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury standing at 4.14%, consistent with Friday’s figures.
