S&P 500, Nasdaq Extend Winning Streak as Rate Decision Looms

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite edged higher on Thursday as investors geared up for next week’s Federal Reserve interest rate decision.

The S&P 500 added 0.11% to close at 6,857.12, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.22% to 23,505.14. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 31.96 points, or 0.07%, ending at 47,850.94.

Treasury yields ticked upward, and bitcoin resumed its pullback, slipping 0.5%. The cryptocurrency fell below $85,000 on Monday—its lowest level since March—before recovering above $90,000, offering some relief to crypto traders.

Investor attention turned to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showing U.S. employers have now announced over 1 million job cuts this year, driven by restructuring, artificial intelligence, and tariffs. This followed Wednesday’s unexpected drop in private payrolls reported by ADP.

Signs of a cooling labor market have strengthened expectations for a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s Dec. 10 meeting. Markets now assign an 87% probability to a cut, sharply higher than earlier this month, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Investors looked past Thursday’s weekly jobless claims, which fell to 191,000—the lowest since September 2022 and well below expectations of 220,000.

Key economic data still awaits, with September’s delayed consumer spending, income figures, and the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge—the PCE index—set for release on Friday, along with the University of Michigan’s December consumer sentiment survey.

Salesforce was a standout performer, rising nearly 4% on stronger-than-expected revenue guidance. Five Below also gained over 3% after beating Wall Street earnings estimates.

Stocks advanced in the prior session, though the AI trade remained shaky. The tech sector lagged the broader market, weighed down by declines in Microsoft, Nvidia, and Broadcom.