Key points:

  • The S&P 500 reached 5,500 points, but could not maintain its position; The Nasdaq ended a 7-day streak of record closes.
  • Nvidia shares fell 3.54% after rising.
  • According to traders, the Fed could cut them by 25 basis points in September.

Shares of Nvidia, the market leader, were unable to maintain the gains achieved earlier. Investors reacted subduedly to the latest economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials as they tried to determine the timing of a possible interest rate cut this year.

As a result, the Dow Jones index rose by 0.77%, reaching 39,134.76 points. At the same time, the S&P 500 index lost 0.25%, closing at 5,473.17 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.79% to finish the day at 17,721.59.

S&P 500 hits record high, but falls short

The S&P 500 hit a landmark high of 5,500, matching many brokerages’ end-of-year forecasts, but then failed to maintain that high. The Nasdaq, on the other hand, showed resilience, ending a streak of seven record closes.

Nvidia shares, which became the market leader on Tuesday, lost 3.54% at the end of the day, retreating from the previous rise. Dell and Super Micro Computer also posted declines of 0.42% and 0.26%, respectively, despite initial gains driven by news of server orders from Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup.

The Energy and Utilities sector saw the highest growth at 1.86% and 0.89% respectively. At the same time, the technology sector, dominated by Nvidia, led the decline.

Total trading volume on US exchanges was 11.98 billion shares, below the average of 13.51 billion over the last 20 trading days.

Mixed economic data

Economic data released this week was mixed. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time fell, but the total number of people receiving benefits reached the highest level since January, indicating a slowdown in the labor market. US housing construction also declined in May amid continued high mortgage rates.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said it will take a year or two to return inflation to 2% as wage growth remains strong. This could cause interest rates to remain elevated for a long time.

Markets see a 58% chance that the US Federal Reserve will cut rates by 25 basis points in September.