Stock market today: Dow closes above 44,000, tech shares stumble as traders eye inflation data

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  • The Dow closed above 44,000 and the S&P 500 closed above 6,000 for the first time on Monday.
  • Bitcoin soared 8% to hit a record high as crypto’s post-election rally continued.
  • Investors will focus on inflation data and corporate earnings as the key market drivers this week.

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US stocks were higher on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping about 300 points while the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 edged slightly higher.

The Dow closed above the 44,000 level for the first time ever, while the S&P 500 hit a record intra-day high and closed above the 6,000 level for the first time.

The Trump trade was largely extended on Monday, with shares of Tesla, bitcoin, the US dollar, and shares of US banks all surging.

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Bitcoin jumped 8% to hit a record high of $87,478. Crypto investors continued to celebrate Trump’s win, which the market expects to be a positive catalyst amid the President-Elect’s promises of policies aimed at boosting the sector.

Meanwhile, tech shares mostly slumped, with shares of Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft, the world’s three largest companies, all down about 1%.

Investors’ top concern this week is inflation data, with consumer price index data for the month of October set to be released Wednesday morning.

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Economists expect a 2.5% year-over-year jump in CPI, compared to a rise of 2.4% in the prior month.

“While economic fundamentals suggest inflation should continue to moderate, policy changes pose an upside risk to the outlook. Nevertheless, we think the October CPI report will be good enough for the Fed to follow through with a 25bp cut in December,” Bank of America said on Monday.

In addition to inflation data, corporate earnings remain on investors’ radars, though they are starting to wind down.

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So far, 91% of S&P 500 companies have reported third-quarter results. Of those companies, 77% beat profit estimates by a median of 6%, while 59% beat revenue estimates by a median of 6%, according to data from Fundstrat.

Nvidia is the last big company that will report earnings. The chip giant is scheduled to report its third-quarter results after the market close on November 20.

Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Monday:

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Here’s what else happened today:

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In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

  • West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 3.13% to $68.18 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was lower by 2.59% to $71.96 a barrel.
  • Gold dropped 2.41% to $2,629.90 an ounce.
  • The 10-year Treasury yield was unchanged as the bond market was closed in observance of Veterans Day.
  • Bitcoin surged 8.37% to $87,160.69.