The stock market saw early-week gains on optimism around U.S.-China trade news and positive mega-cap earnings reports. This sent the major indices to record-highs for the first three days of the week, though the major averages ended the week on a mixed note. The Nasdaq Composite (+2.2%), S&P 500 (+0.7%), and DJIA (+0.8%) captured weekly gains, while smaller-cap indices lagged, with the Russell 2000 (-1.4%) and S&P MidCap 400 (-1.6%) finishing lower.
The Fed went through with a widely expected 25-basis point rate cut, though Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments dampened December rate-cut expectations, pushing the probability down to roughly 65%. This chilled investors, nonetheless, strong earnings, a booming AI investment cycle, and trade optimism helped maintain a broadly positive tone for the week.
Amazon and Alphabet posted strong results, while NVIDIA’s announcements, including over $500 billion in chip orders through 2026, supported gains in the tech sector. Meta’s earnings report did weigh on tech stocks in the middle of the week due to elevated expenses.