Chips lift Nasdaq to record high; inflation numbers, earnings in focus
Business
Chips lift Nasdaq to record high; inflation numbers, earnings in focus
(Reuters) - Chip stocks boosted the Nasdaq on Monday, while the S&P 500 and the Dow edged lower as investors awaited a key inflation reading, commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the start of corporate earnings season for monetary policy cues.
Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab, Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab, Marvell Technology (MRVL.O), opens new tab, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), opens new tab and Qualcomm (QCOM.O), opens new tab jumped between 0.8% and 4.6%.
The gains lifted the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index (.SOX), opens new tab 1.5%, to a near three-week high, and helped the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab and the Nasdaq (.IXIC), opens new tab open at fresh intraday record highs, after closing at fresh record peaks on Friday.
On the economic front, consumer price index data due on Thursday and producer price index data expected on Friday will be under the scanner to gauge if price pressures are easing.
"The economic picture has weakened further, but not enough yet to freak everybody out that it's going to morph into a hard landing," said Mike Wilson, chief equity strategist at Morgan Stanley.
"But if it doesn't improve or doesn't stabilize, there's going to be a crossover point where bad economic data is all of a sudden bad for the stock market."
Expectations for interest-rate cuts as early as September were boosted after Friday's nonfarm payrolls report showed U.S. job growth slowed in June - the latest data to point to weakness in labor market conditions.
