Nasdaq nears record as Fed rate hikes loom

The Nasdaq Composite approached a record high on Thursday as investors turned to growth stocks after digesting the Federal Reserveexit plan from the emergency measures put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tech-rich Nasdaq jumped 0.87%, missing its record by less than 13 points. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, fell 0.04% and 0.62% respectively.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept its benchmark interest rate close to zero and kept its bond buying program at a rate of $ 120 billion per month, but raised expectations for the first rate hike to 2023 versus 2024. More members, but not the majority, said the first rate hike could take place in 2022.

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In equities, growth names like Tesla Inc., Square Inc., and Facebook Inc. fought higher as investors relieved themselves of the idea that interest rate hikes were still likely in more than one place. ‘a year.

So-called memes stocks, including AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., also rose.

Elsewhere, Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were down as money shifted from financials to growth. Banks should benefit from rate hikes that would increase the net interest margin, or the spread between the interest income received by their borrowers and the amount of interest paid to their lenders.

In terms of profits, home builder Lennar Corp. beat both the top and bottom results as higher prices helped offset supply shortages. The company said it was struggling with higher costs for materials and a shortage of labor.

Kroger Co. has raised its annual profit forecast as upgrades to its online options have given a boost. Profits and revenues exceeded expectations. He also announced his intention to repurchase $ 1 billion in shares.

Ford Motor Co. announced that second quarter results “will exceed expectations and be significantly better than a year ago”; CEO Jim Farley will provide more details to investors at a Deutsche Bank conference later Thursday.

Meanwhile, Lordstown Motors Corp. said Thursday that she had no confirmed orders for her electric pickup truck. The clarification comes two days after President Rich Schmidt told attendees at an Automotive Press Association event that the company received binding orders for the first two years of production.

Miners Newmont Corp. and Barrick Gold Corp. were under pressure as gold plunged from $ 85.70 to $ 1,773.80 an ounce, its lowest since April 30.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped $ 1.11 to $ 71.04 a barrel.

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Overseas markets were mostly weaker.

European stock markets were mixed with the UK FTSE 100 falling 0.44% while the French CAC 40 and German DAX 30 rose 0.2% and 0.11%, respectively.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.93%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.21%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.43%.