US stocks traded mixed on Monday amid fading optimism for interest-rate cuts, as investors looked ahead to Nvidia (NVDA) earnings to test the health of the AI trade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slipped roughly 0.2%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) was broadly flat. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.1%, buoyed by a jump in Tesla (TSLA) stock.
Stocks are starting the week on the back foot as the prospect of higher-for-longer rates holds post-election bullishness in check. The S&P 500 has reversed half of its Trump-fueled rally after sharp weekly losses for the major gauges, led by tech.
Signs of a robust economy, combined with comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, have prompted investors to downsize expectations for rate cuts. After the big macro and political events of recent days, the week brings few economic releases seen as likely to reset those calculations.
Read more: What the Fed rate cut means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards
Given that, eyes are now on Nvidia’s results on Wednesday for insight into the strength of the AI trade, which has helped drive the S&P 500’s gains over the past year. Production of its flagship Blackwell chip is in focus, especially after The Information reported the next-generation AI chip has run into problems with overheating. Nvidia shares were down nearly 3% in early trading.
Elsewhere in tech, EV maker Tesla’s shares rose more than 6% in the wake of a Bloomberg report that President-elect Donald Trump’s team is looking to ease US rules for self-driving vehicles.
Wall Street continues to monitor Trump’s picks for his cabinet, after his choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr for top health official rattled vaccine stocks. The incoming president has named Brendan Carr, a critic of Big Techs such as Meta and Apple, as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. The wait is now on to learn who will win the frenzied race to become Trump’s Treasury Secretary.
Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC-USD) — a key Trump trade — has rebounded from its biggest retreat since the election at the weekend. The cryptocurrency was trading above $90,000 on Monday.
LIVE 4 updates
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Nasdaq pops as Tesla surges, focus turns to Nvidia earnings this week
The major averages opened mixed on Monday as investors focus on earnings from chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) later this week to test the strength of the AI trade, and determine the near-term direction of the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dipped 0.2% while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) was flat. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.1% as Tesla (TSLA) jumped over the possibility of more relaxed autonomous driving rules under a Trump administration.
Meanwhile, Nvidia will report earnings this Wednesday. On Monday, BofA analysts noted Nvidia “remains the most dominant stock in the market, driving 20% of S&P 500 return over the past year, and is expected drive nearly 25% of the S&P 500’s EPS growth in 3Q.”
“With the market taking a breather last week following the election rally, we believe NVDA earnings can dictate the near-term direction of the market,” wrote the analysts.
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
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Goldman weighs in on potential Trump tariff impact
Wall Street’s 2025 outlook reports are trickling in, and one keyword search I am doing, of course, is tariffs. Any tariffs imposed on China or Europe by Trump could impact the economy and the outlook for Fed policy.
Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius is out this morning downplaying the potential economic impact of tariffs. Hatzius reasons that tariffs would be more of a one-time hit to growth and inflation, and won’t derail further rate cuts from the Fed in 2025.
Hatzius says:
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Let Nvidia mania begin
To say expectations on Nvidia (NVDA) are sky high into its Wednesday earnings print is an understatement.
They are super, extra sky high!
Nvidia has outperformed the S&P 500 (^GSPC) by 172% year to date and 5% in the last month, points out EvercoreISI analyst Mark Lipacis. The stock trades on a forward P/E multiple of 37 times, a 54% premium to the S&P 500.
The expectations have Wall Street hedging their bets a bit on Nvidia into the release. Here’s Lipacis in a client note this morning:
I touched on Nvidia’s valuation in a recent chat on my Opening Bid podcast with Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya (video below). Arya makes some good points on how Nvidia’s stock tends to trade around certain valuation levels.
