[New York Stock Market] Mixed Close Amid Foxconn Boost... Nasdaq Up 1.24%

The three major indices of the U.S. New York stock market closed mixed on Monday, the 6th (local time), with semiconductor stocks showing strength due to positive news from Foxconn. Nvidia, the leading AI stock, hit an all-time high, closing just shy of the $150 per share mark.

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On that day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the blue-chip-focused Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 42,706.56, down 25.57 points (0.06%) from the previous session. The large-cap-focused S&P 500 rose 32.91 points (0.55%) to 5,975.38, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index gained 243.30 points (1.24%) to close at 19,864.98.

By sector, technology, communication, and materials stocks rose within the S&P 500, while utilities, consumer staples, and financial stocks declined. In particular, related stocks were driven up as Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer and a partner of Nvidia, posted record earnings fueled by strong AI server demand. Nvidia surged over 3%, setting a new all-time high, even briefly surpassing the $150 mark during the session. AMD rose 3.33%. Qualcomm and Broadcom also increased by 1.28% and 1.66%, respectively.

Sam Stovall, Chief Investment Strategist at CFRA Research, said, "The market is currently quite optimistic about technology stocks," adding, "While the market's earnings growth rate this year is 12.8%, the technology sector's earnings growth is expected to reach 20%." However, he also noted, "Valuations appear limited, and technology companies should rise based on their own earnings growth rather than price-to-earnings ratios (PER)."

Expectations that President-elect Donald Trump, set to take office on the 20th, would implement less aggressive tariff measures than initially feared also positively influenced early trading sentiment. The Washington Post (WP) reported that the Trump transition team is considering imposing a maximum 20% general tariff only on specific sectors deemed critical to U.S. national security. This immediately led to gains in automotive stocks, including General Motors (GM).

However, later in the session, Trump denied the report on Truth Social, calling it "fake news." Brian Jacobson of Enex Asset Management assessed that despite Trump's denial, "the market has been reassured that Trump's tariffs will not be as shocking as initially feared."

Meanwhile, economic indicators released that day continued to show improvement. S&P Global announced that the final reading of the U.S. Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for December was 56.8, the highest in 33 months.

Ahead of this week's employment report and corporate earnings season, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield surpassed 4.6%. The 2-year yield, sensitive to monetary policy, hovered around 4.277%. The dollar index, which measures the dollar's value against six major currencies, fell to around 108.2.

On the 8th, the minutes of the December Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting will be released. Fed Governor Lisa Cook said in a public speech that day, "While additional rate cuts will occur at an appropriate time, given the labor market remains robust but inflation shows signs of reacceleration, it is reasonable to lower rates more gradually this year." This week, speeches by Patrick Harker, President of the Philadelphia Fed; Thomas Barkin, President of the Richmond Fed; and Jeffrey Schmid, President of the Kansas City Fed, are also scheduled.

International oil prices slightly declined as a breather following recent sharp rises. At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the near-month February delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed at $73.56 per barrel, down $0.40 (0.54%) from the previous session.