NASDAQ rises 1.05%, sets all-time high
Nvidia closes at record high for second day; market cap reaches $5.76 trillion
All three major US stock indexes rose Monday despite US government bond yields surging to their highest level in more than 22 years, with the NASDAQ Composite and Nvidia both setting all-time highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 90.94 points, or 0.18 percent, at 51,267.90 on Monday (local time).
The S&P 500 gained 51.23 points, or 0.66 percent, to finish at 7,773.95, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 286.45 points, or 1.05 percent, to close at 27,477.31 — surpassing the previous closing record it set on Sept. 22.
Large-cap technology stocks led the advance. Nvidia closed up 2.1 percent at $238.90, after touching an intraday all-time high of $240.10 — its second consecutive record close. The company's market cap expanded to $5.76 trillion.
SpaceX surged 7.63 percent after Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating and set a price target of $300, while Elon Musk said he is in talks with TSMC on cooperation for semiconductor production facilities.
Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla also rose, gaining 1.90 percent, 1.48 percent and 2.20 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, selling pressure on US Treasuries continued. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note climbed as high as 5.347 percent during trading, its highest level since April 3, 2002. The 30-year yield also jumped to 5.702 percent intraday, its highest since May 2002.
Concerns that the Federal Reserve may keep interest rates higher for longer than expected amid persistent inflationary pressure drove yields higher.
Adding to those concerns, the prices-paid component of the Institute for Supply Management's September services purchasing managers index came in at its highest level since July 2022.
Expectations for strong corporate earnings growth underpinned the equity rally even as bond yields spiked. Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital, said technology stocks have served as a kind of safe haven since the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that computing demand is so robust that the sector is relatively insulated from the impact of rising rates.
Market attention now turns to the Fed's minutes from its September FOMC meeting, due out Wednesday. With last week's weaker-than-expected jobs data having eased concerns about a further rate hike in October, investors will be watching closely for Fed officials' views on the future path of interest rates.
moon@heraldcorp.com
