New York Stock Market Ends Mixed but Dow and S&P 500 Reach New Highs... Nvidia Takes a Breather

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The New York stock market closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index hit new all-time highs again.

On the 23rd (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62.42 points (0.16%) from the previous close to 39,131.53, and the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index closed at 5,088.80, up 1.77 points (0.03%) from the previous close. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed at 15,996.82, down 44.80 points (0.28%) from the previous trading day. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index recorded 4,615.03 points, down 1.12% from the previous trading day.

The Dow and S&P 500 indices closed at record highs following the previous session. The S&P 500 index has set new all-time highs 13 times this year alone. The Nasdaq index reached an intraday record high but did not surpass the closing record of 16,057.44 set on November 19, 2021.

In the previous trading day, Nvidia's stock surged due to strong earnings, attracting funds mainly to tech stocks. Nvidia rose more than 16% the day before and increased about 0.4% on this day. Nvidia's market capitalization exceeded $2 trillion intraday for the first time but closed at $1.97 trillion. It took only eight months to double from a $1 trillion market cap to $2 trillion.

Expectations for an early interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed) are gradually weakening as Fed officials have become more cautious in their remarks. The market expects the Fed's first rate cut in June, with the probability of a rate cut at 68%, down from over 80% a month ago.

Goldman Sachs expects the first rate cut to occur in June and a total of four cuts this year. This revises their earlier forecast of starting cuts in May and implementing five cuts this year.

However, New York market experts believe that the increasing possibility of a soft economic landing and the Fed's rate cuts will support stock prices. UBS revised its year-end S&P 500 index forecast upward by 200 points to 5,200, stating, "Despite recent mixed economic indicators, stocks will continue to be supported by solid economic growth, easing inflation, a Fed pivot to rate cuts, and a surge in artificial intelligence (AI) investments." UBS also expects the first rate cut in June this year and a total of three cuts within the year.