Financial markets continued their upward momentum Monday morning, building on last week’s post-election rally after Donald Trump’s decisive victory and anticipated Republican control of Congress. The S&P 500 achieved a significant milestone, surpassing 6,000 points for the first time in its history and marking its 50th record close of 2024.
Market optimism remains high as investors anticipate favorable changes in trade policies, regulations, and tax reforms under the incoming Trump administration. The technology sector demonstrated particular strength, with the Nasdaq composite recording a weekly gain of 5.74%, pushing its year-to-date advancement to approximately 28.5%. Notable tech achievements included Tesla reaching the trillion-dollar market capitalization milestone and Nvidia maintaining its position ahead of Apple as the world’s highest-valued company.
Pre-market trading indicates further gains across all major indices, with S&P 500 futures pointing to a 16-point increase, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures suggesting a 160-point rise, and Nasdaq futures indicating a 45-point advance. However, trading volume is expected to be lighter than usual due to the Veterans’ Day holiday closing of bond markets.
The week ahead features several significant economic reports, including the New York Fed’s inflation expectations and the Commerce Department’s October Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. The corporate earnings calendar is relatively light, with only 11 S&P 500 companies scheduled to report, including major players Home Depot, Cisco Systems, Walt Disney, and Applied Materials.
Current earnings data shows promising results, with LSEG reporting that S&P 500 companies have collectively posted an 8.6% profit increase compared to the previous year, reaching $527 billion. Projections for the fourth quarter are even more optimistic, with expectations of 10% growth.
In early trading activity, Tesla’s stock showed remarkable strength, climbing 7.4% to $344.52, reaching levels not seen since April 2022. Trump Media & Technology shares also gained 5.7%, trading at $33.73, following the President-elect’s announcement that he would retain his stake in the Truth Social parent company. Coinbase Global experienced a substantial surge of nearly 17%, reaching $316.58, driven by record-high cryptocurrency prices and bitcoin’s new peak above $82,000.
International markets reflected similar positive sentiment, with Europe’s Stoxx 600 rising 1.17% and London’s FTSE 100 advancing 0.74%. Asian markets showed mixed results, as disappointing stimulus news from China led to declines in Hong Kong, pulling the MSCI ex-Japan index down 0.9%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 managed a slight gain of 0.08%, bringing its year-to-date increase to approximately 18.8%.
The S&P 500’s impressive performance this year, up 25.7%, reflects growing investor confidence in the market’s direction under
anticipated policy changes. Market participants are closely monitoring upcoming economic indicators and corporate earnings reports for further confirmation of this positive trajectory, while remaining mindful of potential challenges in the global economic landscape.