Stocks continued their record-setting rally in today’s market, regaining momentum after a strong month of February. The S&P 500 gained 0.4%, reaching another record intraday high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq 100 increased by 0.5%.
Investors reacted positively to the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data, which showed a continued cooling of inflation. This eased concerns that the Federal Reserve would delay interest rate cuts. However, closer examination revealed signs of “sticky” inflation that may be more difficult to address.
In morning trading, New York Community Bancorp saw its shares plummet by 27% following the departure of its CEO, a quarterly loss of $2.7 billion, and the discovery of “material weaknesses” in the bank’s loan processes. On the other hand, Dell experienced a 33% increase in its stock price after reporting better-than-expected sales and profits, driven by the prospects of artificial intelligence (AI) for its servers.
Investors also paid attention to developments at OpenAI, as Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against the Microsoft-backed company and its CEO, Sam Altman, for breach of contract. Additionally, OpenAI is reportedly set to announce new board members in March to resolve an impasse related to Altman’s abrupt firing last year.
In morning trading, other notable stocks included AMD, which reached record highs with a more than 4% increase, and Apple, which initially saw a 1% rise before falling due to reports of the company canceling its car project and shifting focus to AI efforts.
Overall, the stock market’s performance today reflects the ongoing optimism and momentum from the previous month, with certain companies benefiting from AI-related prospects and others facing challenges in their operations.
