FiscalFusion

U.S. stocks rose near their record levels on Wednesday as mixed economic data kept hopes alive for an interest rate cut. The S&P 500 gained 0.3%, pulling within 0.6% of its all-time high, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 408 points, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.2%. Microchip Technology led the S&P 500 with a 12.2% jump after projecting high-end sales and profit for the final months of the year, while Marvell Technology rose 7.9% on stronger-than-expected quarterly profit and plans to acquire Celestial AI for over $3.25 billion to boost its AI infrastructure.

Stocks were supported by easing Treasury yields, which fell after a report suggested U.S. employers outside the government may have cut more jobs in November than they added, strengthening expectations for a Fed rate cut next week—the third this year—to support the slowing job market. Investors favor lower rates for their positive effect on investment prices and the economy. Separately, a U.S.

services activity report showed stronger-than-expected growth in retail, finance, insurance, and other industries, with price increases slowing to their lowest rate since April, easing inflation concerns. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.06% from 4.09%, while Bitcoin climbed above $93,000 after a recent drop below $81,000. On Wall Street, American Eagle Outfitters surged 15.1% on stronger profits and a robust holiday shopping start, and Capricor Therapeutics soared 371.1% on promising Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapy results. Few stocks declined, though major names like Microsoft fell 2.5% and Macy’s lost 1.1%, despite beating profit expectations.

Overall, the S&P 500 rose 20.35 points to 6,849.72, the Dow added 408.44 to 47,882.90, and the Nasdaq gained 40.42 to 23,454.09. Abroad, European markets were mostly flat after a mixed Asian session; Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.1% on tech gains, SoftBank surged 6.4% after founder Masayoshi Son regretted selling Nvidia shares, while Chinese indexes declined on weaker factory data, with Hong Kong down 1.3% and Shanghai down 0.5%..