Stocks were mixed Monday, with investors continuing their recent preference for more modestly sized companies over the tech behemoths that had powered this year’s rally.
The signs of rotation within the market came as investors looked ahead to Tuesday’s consumer-price index report and Wednesday’s interest-rate decision. Investors widely expect Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday, reflecting cooling inflation.
Traders trimmed bets that the Fed will cut rates as soon as March following Friday’s stronger-than-expected jobs report. Still, a reduction by this time next year is seen as a near certainty, CME group data show.
Fed forecasts due Wednesday will show most officials themselves expect to cut rates in 2024, reports Nick Timiraos.
Stock indexes were split. The Dow industrials and S&P 500 ticked higher, while the Nasdaq Composite bounced between small gains and losses. All three ended last week at their highest levels in more than a year and a half.
Cigna stock jumped after the company scrapped a tie-up with Humana. Macy’s surged after The Wall Street Journal reported that an investor group has made an offer to take the company private. That lifted department-store chains Kohl’s and Nordstrom as well.
Large tech shares slumped. All of the “Magnificent 7” stocks were moving lower, with Meta Platforms dropping some 2%. Nvidia fell, but some other chip stocks rose.
Treasury yields ticked higher, extending gains made Friday after data showed that hiring stayed strong in November. The 10-year yield was hovering around 4.274%.
Japanese stocks rallied and the yen fell against the dollar after Bloomberg News reported the Bank of Japan is unlikely to end negative rates this month. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell after deflationary data in China suggested Beijing’s efforts to reignite faltering growth are falling short.
