The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other indexes rose as investors cheered after President-elect Donald Trump picked Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary. Nvidia (NVDA) and Palantir Technologies (PLTR) were subject to bullish analyst calls. Department store Macy’s (M) fell after the firm delayed its earnings report due to an accounting issue.
The Dow Jones index was making yet more progress Monday, with the much-watched index up nearly 480 points, or more than 1%. UnitedHealth (UNH) and Home Depot (HD) were top performers in the Dow with gains of more than 2% each. Outside of Nvidia, Microsoft (MSFT) lagged the most.
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The Nasdaq composite gained 0.4%. While it is off recent highs, the index is above its 21-day exponential moving average and sits more than 3% above its 50-day moving average.
Stock Market Today: Small Caps Shine
Top performers on the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite included beaten down stocks Super Micro Computer (SMCI), which soared more than 14%, and Moderna (MRNA), which climbed more than 9%.
The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.5%. Builders FirstSource (BLDR) outperformed with a gain of more than 6%. GE Vernova (GEV) and gold miner Newmont (NEM) were laggards here.
The S&P 500 sectors were mostly positive. Real estate and consumer discretionary were the best performers. Technology and energy were the only areas in negative territory.
Small caps were biting the bears, with the Russell 2000 up more than 2%. Growth stocks also popped, with the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) up more than 1%.
Stock Market Cheers Trump Treasury Pick Bessent
One reason for the positive action on the stock market today was the warm reaction to Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary.
Hedge fund veteran Scott Bessent, who founded Key Square Group, is seen as a safe pair of hands who will be able to safely carry out the incoming president’s economic strategy.
The George Soros protégé is seen as having in-depth knowledge of the markets, with the bond market in particular being an area of expertise. According to The Wall Street Journal, Bessent was keen to get involved because he wants to help the U.S. economy grow its way out of indebtedness.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell nearly 1%.
Treasury yields also fell sharply. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell 11 basis points to 4.30% while the 2-year’s dipped six basis points to 4.31%.
Bullish Calls For Nvidia Stock, Palantir
A couple of the hottest stocks on Wall Street had diverging fortunes despite both receiving bullish Wall Street calls.
Nvidia skidded nearly 3% despite Rosenblatt reiterating the stock as a buy. The firm touted the firm’s outlook as well as an improving demand profile for its new Blackwell AI chip next year.
Despite this, Nvidia fell back below a consolidation entry of 140.76, according to MarketSurge analysis.
Overall performance is strong, which is reflected in Nvidia’s extremely strong IBD Composite Rating of 97.
Meanwhile, Palantir Technologies got a boost after Bank of America reiterated its buy rating on the stock. Also, its price target was hiked from 55 to 75 due to the firm’s ability to “digitize enterprises.”
The AI and data analysis play popped more than 2%. It got further extended above its 50-day line and now sits about 42% above that benchmark.
Macy’s Skids Amid Delay Amid Accounting Issue
One stock that was getting punished on the stock market today was department store Macy’s. The stock tumbled nearly 4% after the company said it is delaying its Q3 report.
The firm said and employee had deliberately input incorrect accounting entries to hide delivery expenses.
Macy’s had been expected to announce its earnings before the open Tuesday. It now expects to report by Dec. 11.
The company did release some preliminary results. Third-quarter sales fell more 2.4% to $4.74 billion. They had been seen slipping to $4.72, according to FactSet. Comparable sales also dipped.
Macy’s stock lost ground on its 200-day moving average buy is holding above its 50-day line for now.
Outside Dow Jones: Atlassian Rises In Buy Zone
With the market currently in an uptrend it is a good time to be buying stocks.
And enterprise software firm Atlassian (TEAM) saw a breakout strengthen on the stock market today.
Shares moved higher to the top of a buy zone from a cup-with-handle entry of 256.39, according to MarketSurge analysis.
Overall performance is good, with its IBD Composite Rating coming in at 98 out of 99. It is among the top 7% of issues in terms of price performance over the past 12 months. Earnings are seen rising 11% in the fiscal year ending in June and 25% in the next fiscal year.
As a reminder, IBD continues to recommend 80% to 100% exposure for most investors.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
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