US close: Tech sector lifts Nasdaq to new record, but Dow slump continues

A strong performance in the tech sector lifted the Nasdaq 1.2% higher to 20,173.89, topping an earlier peak set last Wednesday. The index has now risen by nearly 37% so far this year.

In contrast, the ongoing slump on the Dow continued, falling 0.3% to 43,717.48. The index has now fallen nearly 3% since hitting a record on 4 December – marking its longest losing streak since 2018.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 6,074.08, and now sits just below record highs seen earlier this month.

This week's primary focus will be the Federal Open Market Committee's monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, with market participants widely expecting to see the central bank cut its benchmark overnight interest rate by a further 25 basis points.

"Wall Street’s optimism has sent indices higher with the CME’s FedWatch tool showing more than a 99% chance of a third cut from the Federal Reserve this year," said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell's head of financial analysis.

"But the devil in the US will be in the detail, with a lot riding on the Fed’s dot plot of forecasts which will, for the first time, factor in Donald Trump’s pledge of day one tariffs when he returns to the White House in January."

On the macro front for Monday, the New York Empire State manufacturing index fell to 0.2 in December, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, down from a three-year high of 31.2 in November and missing forecasts for a reading of 12. New orders and shipments increased modestly, while delivery times shortened slightly and supply availability was little changed.

Elsewhere, a preliminary reading of S&P Global's manufacturing PMI fell to 48.3 in December, down from 49.7 in November and well below market expectations for a reading of 48.9, while the services PMI rose to 58.5, up from 56.1 a month earlier and beating expectations for a drop to 55.7.

Market movers

Unitedhealth shares continued to slump in the wake of the killing of Brian Thompson, the head of its insurance division. The stock fell 4%, having now dropped more than 18% since his death on 4 December.

Chip group Broadcom jumped 11% as the stock continued to be lifted by better-than-expected quarterly results on Friday. The share price has risen more than 38% over the past two days alone.

Other heavyweights in the tech sector were also in demand, including Tesla, Alphabet, Intel, Amazon.com and Intuit.

Bitcoin-related stocks jumped as the cryptocurrency continued to set new records, briefly topping the $107,000 mark earlier in the session. Coinbase, MARA Holdings and Robinhood were all in demand.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.83 2.41%
Boeing Co. (BA) $173.17 2.07%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $251.04 1.17%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $451.59 0.97%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $357.23 0.82%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $94.87 0.66%
American Express Co. (AXP) $303.59 0.47%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $297.91 0.37%
Visa Inc. (V) $315.89 0.37%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $587.03 0.15%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $498.50 -4.22%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.88 -3.31%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $149.36 -2.93%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.18 -2.02%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $100.21 -1.90%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $143.85 -1.89%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $40.10 -1.84%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $266.50 -1.52%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $410.91 -1.50%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $112.11 -1.09%

S&P 500 - Risers

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $250.00 11.21%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $108.26 5.62%
Western Union Co. (WU) $11.19 4.00%
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $82.24 3.71%
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $116.53 3.70%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $196.66 3.60%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $198.16 3.54%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $126.14 3.44%
Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $22.55 3.17%
Equifax Inc. (EFX) $273.56 2.89%

S&P 500 - Fallers

CVS Health Corp (CVS) $46.60 -5.61%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $8.31 -5.56%
Phillips 66 Common Stock (PSX) $116.27 -5.24%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $89.68 -5.13%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $138.19 -5.06%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $260.46 -4.98%
HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $35.60 -4.94%
Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $7.64 -4.75%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $6.21 -4.61%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $93.12 -4.41%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $250.00 11.21%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $463.02 6.14%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $108.26 5.62%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $196.66 3.60%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $198.16 3.54%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $522.11 2.72%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.83 2.41%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $232.93 2.40%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $671.50 2.29%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $313.49 2.20%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $22.64 -6.10%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $89.68 -5.13%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $93.12 -4.41%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.35 -4.22%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $88.34 -2.73%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $38.86 -2.66%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $16.52 -2.36%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $149.92 -2.35%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $30.97 -2.27%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $230.09 -2.25%