Stock Market News

The Fed’s 25‑bp rate cut and dovish guidance fueled a strong Dow advance and pushed the S&P 500 near record highs, while Treasury yields fell. Tech and AI narratives produced mixed reactions: the Nasdaq logged modest gains even as Oracle plunged after disappointing guidance tied to heavy AI spending.

U.S. benchmarks reacted to heightened Fed rate-cut expectations, a costly JPMorgan expense outlook that pressured the Dow, and corporate moves—Nvidia export nuances and a heated Paramount–Warner bid—that shifted sector leadership and pre-market movers.

Walmart completed its move from the NYSE to Nasdaq, fueling a sharp stock jump and signaling a strategic pivot toward tech and AI. At the same time, Nasdaq is under regulatory scrutiny for a wave of small-cap IPOs that have attracted SEC and FINRA attention, raising concerns about listing standards, investor protection, and potential shifts in ETF and index fund flows.

Carvana will enter the S&P 500 on Dec. 22, sparking an 8.6% premarket rally amid heavy index-driven flows. At the same time, major UK pension funds—managing roughly £200 billion—are trimming U.S. equity exposure over AI-driven valuation concerns and reallocating toward UK and Asian stocks, a move that could amplify volatility in tech-heavy indexes like the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.

Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas published bullish S&P 500 targets for 2026 while the S&P index committee considers additions such as Marvell and Carvana — moves that could reshape flows, valuations, and sector leadership through next year.

Cooling PCE data lifted odds of a Fed rate cut and helped U.S. indexes edge higher as the S&P 500 flirted with record highs. Major corporate moves — Netflix’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, UiPath’s first GAAP profit quarter and weaker guidance from HPE — reshaped sector flows and volatility across the S&P, Nasdaq and Dow.