NASDAQ, S&P Hit Peaks on First Session in December



The S&P 500 ticked higher to a new record to begin December trading as investors looked for stocks to add to big November gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial index declined 128.65 points to 44,782

The broader index nicked ahead 14.77 points to 6,047.15.

The NASDAQ Composite spiked 185.78 points, or 1%, to 19,403.95.

Shares of Tesla gained 3% following an upgrade to buy from neutral at Roth MKM, with the firm citing as a catalyst Musk’s close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump. AI server maker Super Micro Computer surged 29% after a special committee found “no evidence of misconduct” and that the firm’s financial statements were “materially accurate.” Meanwhile, Amazon stock added 1% amid the start of the holiday shopping season on Cyber Monday.

Intel jumped 4% after CEO Pat Gelsinger retired after four years of underperformance at the chipmaker.

November marked the best month of 2024 for Dow, which gained 7.5% and S&P 500, with the index improving 5.7% for the period. Most of the gains came in a post-election rally after President-elect Donald Trump emerged as the winner. Both of the indexes notched closing highs in Friday’s shortened trading session.

On Monday morning, freshly released economic data indicated that the U.S. manufacturing sector improved in November, although it still remained in contraction. That came ahead of the November jobs report, due out on Friday morning.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell a bit, raising yields to 4.19% from Friday’s 4.18%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices increased seven cents to $68.07 U.S. a barrel.

Prices for gold slipped $20.60 an ounce to $2,660.400 U.S.