Stock Market Today: Dow higher, S&P 500 falls as expectations grow for jumbo rate cut
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped higher at the opening bell Monday, trading above its record close from Aug. 30, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lost ground.
“For weeks, market expectations favored a 25-basis-point cut, but now they appear to have shifted to 50 basis points,” said Chris Larkin, managing director for trading and investing at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley, in a note.
He noted stocks are coming off another volatile week,” but at least this one featured the kind of volatility people like—to the upside.”
“The S&P 500 notched its biggest up week of the year one week after its biggest down week since March 2023. The direction this week takes will be dictated by the Fed’s decision, and to what Fed Chair Jerome Powell says in his post-announcement press conference,” Larkin said.
The Dow was up 265 points, or 0.6%, at 41,659, on track to best its record finish of 41,563.08 set on Aug. 31.
The S&P 500 was off 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9%.