Nasdaq 100 Extends Record Levels Ahead Of Fed Meeting, Tesla Hits 26-Month Highs, Small Caps Stall: What's Driving Markets Thursday?

After Wednesday’s “everything rally” spurred by the election results, investors took a less euphoric approach on Thursday ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, bringing them to a range of 4.5%-4.75%, following a previous 50-basis-point cut in September.

Yet, all eyes are on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at 2:30 p.m. ET regarding the potential for future rate hikes and his views on inflation risks. Concerns from the market center on the possibility of a policy U-turn driven by higher fiscal deficits and price pressures from trade tariffs under a Trump administration.

Tech stocks led gains, with the Nasdaq 100 extending its record-breaking levels, surpassing 21,000 points and eyeing a third consecutive positive session. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones posted more modest gains, while the Russell 2000 paused after Wednesday’s 5.8% leap.

Tesla Inc. TSLA remained a top performer among mega-cap stocks, bolstered by expectations of Elon Musk‘s influence in the upcoming administration.

Treasury yields reversed a substantial portion of Wednesday's post-election increase, while the U.S. dollar dipped by 0.7%.

Metal commodities rebounded after Wednesday’s sharp losses, with gold rising 1.3%, silver up 2% and copper rallying over 4%.

Oil prices strengthened by 1%, with West Texas Intermediate trading around $72 per barrel.

Bitcoin BTC/USD rose 0.8%, reaching $76,000 to extend its record highs, while Ethereum ETH/USD outperformed with a gain of over 4%.

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.7% to $594.84.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA stalled at $437.25.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ soared 1.3% to $512.38.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM eased 0.3% to $236.67.
• The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK outperformed, rising 1.3%. The Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF lagged, down 1.2%.

Some relevant reactions to earnings reports are:

• Qualcomm Inc. QCOM, up 0.1%,
• Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD, up 6.2%,
• MercadoLibre Inc. MELI, down 16%,
• APPLovin Corp. APP, up 43%,
• McKesson Corp. MCK, up 11%,
• Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. TTWO, up 6.3%,
• Transdigm Group Inc. TDG, down 4.4%

Read Next:

This image was created using artificial intelligence.